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Laiayetle attheBattle of the Brandywius binding up the wound inhislsg'. 







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W () S 'IM) N : 
CROSP.Y, NI(:iIOI;S, AND (lOMPANV, 

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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, by 

CROSBY, NICHOLS, AND COMPANY, 

in the Clerk's Office of tbo District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



ITnlvcrsity Press, Cambridge t 
Electrotyped and Printed by Welcli, Eigelow, & Co. 



The Life of Lafayette seems properly to fol- 
low that of Washington for several reasons. 
They were closely connected in the dark days 
of our Revolutionary war ; and in the stormier 
scenes of the French Revolution, the young 
republican constantly took Washington for his 
model. Nor was it only in public services that 
their lives were united, but the friendship 
which bound them to each other was pure and 
lasting. 

As tlie friend of Washington, Lafayette 
claims our respect ; as the disinterested bene- 
factor of our country, we owe him more grat- 
itude than is often expressed, — more, perhaps, 
than is often felt. 

This memoir is an attempt to interest Amer- 
ican children in the character and history of 
one who stood so near our Commander-in-chief 
in many difficulties, and whose after life was 
so varied and remarkable. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAP. Page 

I, Escape fkom France 1 

II. A First Battle ...... 13 

III. A New Command . . . . . . . 29 

IV. The Two Alliances 47 

V. Active Operations 57 

VI. Success the Eeward of Patience . . 69 

VII. France as it was 77 

VIII. Changes 87 

IX. Liberty in October 101 

X. Doubts Ill 

XI. A Lamentable Flight 123 

XII. Trouble at Home and Abroad . . . 134 

XIII. Exile .147 

XIV. The Family at Olmutz 159 

XV. France much changed 170 

XVL A New King of France .... 179 

XVII. Visit to the United States .... 186 

XVIII. A Happy Home 198 

XIX. The Old Soldier 210 



LAFAYETTE. 



CHAPTER I. 

ESCAPE FROM FRANCP]. 

Lafayette was born on the 7th of September, 
1757, at the castle of Chavaniac, in the province of 
Auvergne, which lies between the centre and the 
south of France. His family had long been dis- 
tinguished for courage and high spirit, and he inher- 
ited tlie rank of Marquis. His names were Marie- 
Paul-Joseph-Rocli-Ives-Gilbert de Motier; but he 
seems never to have been called by or to have signed 
any of them. 

Little is known of his cliildhood. Pie never saw 
his father, who was killed at the battle of Minden, 
and his excellent mother died when he was eleven 
years old. He was at first educated in the country 
among his relations, then sent at the age of eleven 



2 LAFAYETTE. [l774. 

to a college in Paris, and afterwards to the Academy 
of Versailles ; but his studies must have come to an 
end early in life, as he was married at sixteen to his 
cousin, Mademoiselle Fran^oise Adrienne de Noailles. 

Probably, if his parents had been living, they 
would not have allowed so youthful a marriage ; but, 
in spite of its imprudence, all ended happily for both 
parties. Madame de Lafayette was descended, like 
her husband, from a noble family, and had many 
charming and admirable qualities. They loved each 
other devotedly, and shared both pleasures and cares. 

From the time when he was a mere cliild, Lafay- 
ette recollected loving everything that was free. 
He liked high-spirited animals, and hoped to meet a 
hyena which had done some mischief in the neigh- 
borhood of his home ; at school he was very unwil- 
ling to be forced to do anything, — he would work 
industriously, but could not bear the idea of any 
constraint. Ho liked to read and think of free 
nations, and managed to avoid a i^lace at court which 
his wife's family were vei^ anxious to secure for him. 

On his first appearance in the distinguished society 
which he went into on account of his own and his 
wife's connections, he did not make a particularly 
favorable impression. He was observing and rather 



AGE 19.] LAFAYETTE. 3 

silent; he did not enjoy tlie conversation he heard, 
and was thought very cold. He never could adopt 
what were called "the graces o^ the court," — a kind 
of manner which was never seen in this country, 
and probably never will be. 

He went into the army, as almost all young men of 
rank did at that time in France. 

Lafayette was blit nineteen years old ^vhen he 
first heard of the Revolutionary war in America. 
He was stationed at Metz on military duty, when the 
Duke of Gloucester, brother of the King of Eng- 
land, happened to come there. At a dinner given in 
honor of him, the conversation turned upon the 
rebellion of the colonies, and the king's determi- 
nation to crush it. The idea of a nation fighting for 
freedom at once interested him ; they were doing 
what he had read of and dreamed of. He asked 
questions, and from the Duke's own account was 
disposed to believe that the Americans were in the 
right. Before he left the table, he thought how 
much he should like to go over to the United States, 
and give whatever help he could in so noble a cause. 
For several days this idea was constantly in his 
mind.; he could not forget what he had heard, and 
dwelt upon it until he positively longed to be on his 
way. 



4 LAFAYETTi:. [l77(». 

lie went to IViriH, and spoke oi" his wishes to a 
lew persons; two of liis young iriends Hhared hia 
enlhiisiasni, jind would gladly have joined liiin, but 
were loihidden by Ihcir families. Jjaiiiyette had a 
lortune of his own, but he knew Ihat all his own and 
his wife's relations wouhl oppose him. lie also 
fores;iw (hat Ihe government might put some difli- 
eullies in iiis wny, and h<^ took'for a molto, at this 
time, (he Lnliu words, " ciu- iion ? " (why not?) 
On(! old i'riend of (he family i-efused even to givo 
him any advice, mid said lo him, " I have seen your 
uncle d'lv. in the wars of Ilaly, 1 witnessed your 
father's dealli at the batlle of Minden, an<l I will not 
be accessary* (o (he ruin of (he only remaining 
branch of the family." Ijai'ayette remained, how- 
ever, perfectly bent upon (lu^ undertaking, and made 
(he ae(|iiainlan('e of Mr. Silas Deane, a commissioner 
from (he lliiiled Stales, by whom of coiu-se he was 
cordially rec(>ive<l, for his raids, and connections with 
Ihe court would make his going lo America an im- 
porlanl <'\('mI. Several olher !«' reach offiecrH wanted 
lo go at (his (ime, and l\Ir. Deane was trying to get 
a ship in which he could send Ihem and some guns 



^ To bo accessary is to help in nuy way, by word or act. 



AGE 19.] LAFAYETTE. 5 

which he had bought for the United States army, 
when bad news reached Paris. The campaign * of 
1776 had been unsuccessful for the Americans; 
Washington, with a very small army, had been com- 
pelled to retreat from New York through New 
Jersey. In Europe all hope was at once given up ; 
the friends of America expected soon to see the 
power of Great Britain triumph over her feeble 
colonies. The Americans in Paris were extremely 
discouraged, and Mr. Deane told Lafayette the 
whole truth, advising him not to attempt to sail. 
Lafayette thanked him for his frankness, but said 
immediately, " Until now, sir, you have seen only my 
ardor in the cause, and that may not at present 
prove wholly useless. I shall purchase a ship to 
carry out your officers; we must feel confidence in 
the future, and it is especially in the hour of danger 
that I wish to share your fortune." 

It was now impossible for Mr. Deane to obtain a 
ship ; Lafayette, therefore, bought one at Bordeaux, 
and had her fitted up for fighting, in case they should 
meet an enemy at sea. The preparations went on 
with perfect secrecy, and he did not yet venture to 
tell any of his family what he was doing. 



* A single season of fighting, visually one summer. 



6 LAFAYETTE. [l777. 

Just before he was ready to sail, he was obliged to 
go over to England, as he had promised to spend a 
few weeks there, and was afraid of exciting suspicions 
if he refused. He received a great deal of attention 
in London, and quite enjoyed the joke of dancing at 
the house of a general who had just returned from 
New York, and whom he afterwards came near meet- 
ing in a very different scene. He was careful, 
however, to refuse invitations to visit the ships of 
war, and not to see any of the preparations made 
against the rebels. He did not think it honorable 
to gain knowledge as a friend which he might be 
tempted to use as an enemy. But he openly ex- 
pressed his sympathy with the Americans. On his 
return, he spent but a few days in Paris, and went 
to Bordeaux, hoping to sail immediately; but he 
found that his plans had become known to the gov- 
ernment, and he was forbidden to go to America and 
ordered to go to Marseilles. He got his ship safely 
out of the harbor, and then went back himself and 
sent several letters to Paris ; he wrote to the French 
ministers,* and to his family and friends, whose regrets 



* Persons who manage the business of a government, as the 
Minister of War, who attends to everything about the army, the 
JMinister of the ]\Iarine, who controls all the ships, etc. 



AGE 19.] LAFAYETTE. 7 

and reproaches distressed him. Still he was per- 
fectly firm in his decision, and, as no answer came 
from government during the next few days, he deter- 
mined to take his own course. 

He set off with another young officer on the road 
to Marseilles, but after travelling a httle distance 
disguised himself as a courier,* and rode back before 
the carriage. He had gone in safety about half the 
way, when a young girl, a postmaster's daughter, 
recognized in the pretended servant the Marquis de 
Lafayette, whom she had seen near Bordeaux. He 
made a sign to her not to betray him, and she not 
only kept silence herself, but prevented other people 
from suspecting who the courier really was. 

At last, on the 26th of April, 1777, Lafayette set 
sail for America. But his adventures were not over. 
The captain of the ship insisted upon stopping at the 
West Lidia islands, which Lafayette was equally 
resolute not to do. After some time, he found out 
that the captain was anxious about a cargo he had 
on board, and promised that he should lose nothing 
by taking him directly to America. The French 

* A courier makes arrangements for people who travel in a 
carriage, or now-a-days in the cars. He provides fresh horses, 
engages rooms at hotels, and used to ride on the coach. 



8 LAFAYETTE. [l777. 

government had, as lie suspected, sent orders for his 
arrest to these isles, and if he had stopped there 
his voyage would have proved a long one. 

Every ship of war they met gave them a great 
fright, for they could have made but a poor resist- 
ance had they been attacked. After Lafayette recov- 
ered from sea-sickness, he employed himself in study- 
ing the English language and the art of war. And 
so seven weeks of discomfort, doubts, and hopes 
passed, and he landed in June at Georgetown, South 
Carolina. As his foot touched American ground, he 
resolved in his heart to conquer or perish in that 
cause which was so dear to him. He landed at 
night at Major' Huger's.* The family at first sup- 
posed he and liis companions came from one of the 
enemy's ships, but, on finding that they were French 
officers, received them with the greatest hospitality. 

The next morning Lafayette was delighted with 
the prospect from his windows and the beauty of the 
weather, while the house and the black servants 
coming to wait on him made him feel that he was 
in a strange, new world. He went immediately to 
Charleston, and wrote to his wife that it was " one 

* Pronoiinced Yougee. 



AGE 19.] LAFAYETTE. 9 

of the best-built, handsomest, and most agreeable 
cities" that he had ever seen. "The American 
women," he says, " are very pretty, and have great 
simplicity of character, and the extreme neatness of 
their appearance is truly dehghtful; cleanliness is. 
everywhere even more attended to here than in 
England. "What gives me most pleasure is to see 
how completely the citizens are all brethren of one 

family." " The inns are very different from 

those of Europe ; the host and hostess sit at table 
with you, and do the honors of a comfortable meal. 
If you should dislike going to inns, you may always 
find country houses in which you will be received 
as a good American, with the same attention that you 
might expect in a friend's house in Europe. My 
own reception has been particularly agreeable. I 
have just passed five hours at a dinner given in com- 
pHment to me by an individual of this town. We 
drank each other's healths, and endeavored to talk 
English, which I am beginning to speak a little." 
. . . . "The night is far advanced, the heat in- 
tense, and I am devoured by mosquitos; but the 
best countries, as you perceive, have their incon- 
veniences." 

Lafayette very soon went on to Philadelphia, to 



10 LAFAYETTE. 



[1777. 



offer his services to Congress. He was at first re- 
ceived with a little coolness, which, however, did not 
disturb him much, as he was reasonable enough to 
see the cause of it. Congress was at this time beset 
every day by foreign officers eager for high rank in 
the Continental* army. That army was so small 
that it was impossible to find places for all the for- 
eignei's and keep any American officers at all ; and 
the natives, who had borne the hardships of the 
first two years of the war, were extremely disgusted 
when European officers were put above them in 
rank. At the same time, the foreigners were dis- 
satisfied with low places, because they said they had 
"seen service" abroad. Mr. Deane, in Paris, was 
apt to encourage Frenchmen to come over, thinking 
that their experience would be valuable to so young 
an army; but the numbers that flocked here were 
a sore trial to General Washington. 

Lafayette, not discouraged by the backwardness 
of Congress to give him an appointment, sent in by 
one of the mciiibers this little note : " After the 
sacrifices I have made, I have the right to exact two 
favors : one is, to serve at my own expense, — the 

* This was the fu-st name of tlie American army. 



AGE 19.] LAFAYETTE. 11 

other, to serve as a volunteer."* This style, so 
dilFerent from . that of the gentlemen who demanded 
high rank and high pay, pleased Congress ; the 
letters he brought were immediately examined, and 
he was appointed a Major-General. He did what he 
could for the officers who had come in the same ship 
with him. 

While he was in Philadelphia, at a public dinner 
Lafayette saw General Washington for the first 
time. He immediately distinguished him, among 
many officers, by his majestic figure and dignified 
manner. Washington was then forty-five years old, 
and in dook and bearing exactly what one would 
wish to see a Commander-in-chief. Lafayette was 
no less charmed with his cordiality than with his 
appearance. He expressed much interest in the 
young Marquis, and invited him to make his head- 
quarters his home, saying, with a smile, that he could 
not promise him the luxuries of a court, but that 
doubtless he would cheerfully bear the privations of 
an American soldier. 

The army was then stationed near Philadelphia. 

* A volunteer is a person attached to the army by his own 
request. He receives neither rank nor i^ay, and may join any 
general he prefers. 

2 



12 LAFAYETTE. [l777. 

Lafayette says of his first sight of it : " About eleven 
thousand men, ill-armed and still worse clothed, pre- 
sented a strange spectacle ; their clothes were parti- 
colored, and many of them were almost naked ; the 
best clad wore hunting-shirts, — large gray linen 
coats, which were much used in Carolina." General 
Washington said to him, "We ought to feel em- 
barrassed in exhibiting olirselves before an officer 
who has just left French troops." "It is to learn, 
and not to teach, that I come here," replied the 
Miu'quis ; and this pleasant, modest answer made 
him A cry popular. 

lie had every reason to be satisfied with his 
reception. In the Commander-m-chief he soon found 
a true friend ; the soldiers were quite ready to 
admire him; and throughout the country gi'eat in- 
terest was felt in this enthusiastic young Frenchman, 
who had loft his country, his home, his wife and 
friends, and all the pleasures he might have enjoyed 
at the French court, for the salve of joining the army 
of the United States ; or, rather, for the sake of 
helping widi his SAVord a people determined to be 
free. Lafayette took great pains to learn to speak 
and Avritc English, and in every way to feel and 
think as an American. 




Lafayette ataReview of Aiiierican Troops. 



CHAPTER II. 



A FIEST BATTLE. 



Lafayette arrived at a time of great uncer- 
tainty in the military movements. Sir William 
Howe had sailed from New York with his army, and 
no one knew where he was going. The American 
army was waiting near Philadelphia, ready to march 
to any place at which he might reappear. After 
many days of suspense, the ships were seen coming 
up Chesapeake Bay, approaching Philadelphia in a 
round-about manner. The Americans, although they 
were not in a very good condition for fighting, 
immediately marched to meet the enemy. The 
troops were new recruits,* not well drilled, but 
spirited and eager for an action. In fact, the whole 
country was then impatient to have a regular battle 
fought ; people at a distance did not understand how 

* Men who have joined an army, but have never been soldiers 
before. 



14 LAFAYETTE. [1777. 

poor the army was, and grew tired of General 
Washington's prudence and caution, which were in 
truth caused by necessity, and not at all agreeable to 
his disposition. It was fortunate for the Americans 
that Sir William Howe had wasted so much of the 
summer before opening the campaign. 

General Washington made some opposition to the 
landing of the British, and the battle of the Brandy- 
wine,* the first in which Lafayette was engaged, took 
place on the 11th of September. At first, success 
seemed to be with the Americans, but the firing was 
not very heavy ; Lord Cornwallis, in the mean time, 
by marching seventeen miles, brought his troops up 
behind the Americans, and so separated parts of the 
army. The generals were not informed of this 
manoeuvre t in time to make the best arrangements 
to receive him; and, though the young American 
troops at first behaved with spirit, in the course of 
the day they gave way before the superior discipHne 
of the British. 

Lafayette as a volunteer remained for some time 
with the Commander-in-chief; at length he asked 

* A river in Pennsylvania, wliicli flows into tlie Delaware. 
t A change of position in a company, regiment, or larger 
division. 



AGE 20.] LAFAYETTE. 15 

permission, to go where he saw the fight was hottest. 
In the midst of great confusion, he was rallying the 
trooj)s, when a ball womided him in the leg. General 
Washington brought up some fresh soldiers, and 
Lafayette was preparing to join him, when loss of 
blood obliged him to stop and have his wound ban- 
daged ; he had not cared for the pain, but he could 
not afford to faint on horseback. As it was, he was in 
great danger of being taken prisoner. 

Night came on, and nothing more could be done. 
Men, cannon, wagons, baggage crowded along the 
road from Chad's Ford to Chester, about twelve 
miles distant. At Chester Lafayette made a great 
effort to stop this hurried and confused retreat. The 
Commander-in-chief and the other Generals arrived 
at the same place, and the remains of the army 
passed there the sorrowful night after the battle. 
At last Lafayette had time to have his wound 
dressed. 

The people of Philadelphia heard the firing, 
although the field of battle was twenty-six miles 
from the city. The defeat of the army was a ter- 
rible blow to the Whigs ; * whole families left their 

* Those who Avere opposed to Great Britain. 



16 LAFAYETTE. [l777. 

homes, expecting that the British would occupy the 
city during the Avinter. Congress sought a safer 
place of meeting at Yorktown, among the moimtains. 
Lafayette was at first taken by water to Philadel- 
phia, where he received the kindest attentions from 
some of the citizens who were not too much occupied 
with fears for their own safety to care for a stranger; 
but it was of course no place for him when his 
friends were flying, and he was removed to Bethle- 
hem, where the Moravians * took good care of him, 
and his Avound gradually healed. lie Avrote to his 
wife that his wound was but a trifle. " The surgeons 
are astonished at the rapidity with Avhich it heals ; 
they are in an ecstasy of joy each time they dress it, 
and pretend it is the finest thing in the world. For 
my part, I think it most disagreeable, painful, and 
wearisome ; but tastes often differ. If a man, how- 
ever, wished to be wounded for his amusement only, 
he should conio and examine how I have been struck, 
that he might be struck in precisely the same man- 
ner. This, my dearest love, is Avhat I pompously 

* Devout Christians, ^\•]\o live together somewhat as Shakers 
do, and during the war often took cai'o of the wounded. Their 
neatness and gentleness fitted them for this work. They are 
called Moravians because the sect was first fonued in IMoravia. 



AGE 19.] LAFAYETTE. 17 

style my wound, to give myself airs, and render 
myself interesting. 

"I must now give you your lesson as wife of an 
American general officer. They will say to you, 
^Tliey have been beaten.' You must answer, 
* That is true ; but when two armies of equal num- 
bers meet in the field, old soldiers have naturally the 
advantage over new ones ; they have besides had the 
pleasure of killing a great many of the enemy, — 
many more than they have lost.' They will after- 
wards add, ^ All that is very well ; but Philadelphia 
is taken, the capital of America, the rampart of 
liberty!' You must politely answer, ^You are all 
great fools ! Philadelphia is a poor, forlorn town, 
exposed on every side, whose harbor was already 
closed; though the residence of Congress lent it, I 
know not why, some degree of celebrity.' This is 
the famous city which, be it added, we will, sooner 
or later, make them yield back to us." 

Lafayette certainly did all he could to make his 
wife's mind easy by writing constantly, and in a very 
cheerful strain; but letters were then six or seven 
weeks in crossing the ocean, and she probably often 
heard false reports from London. The English, in 
writing home, would naturally make the most of 
2* B 



18 LAFAYETTE. [l777. 

every success of theirs, and every loss on the Ameri- 
can side. And Madame Lafayette must have mourned 
over this separation from her husband, as it is not 
hkely that she was as enthusiastic as he in the cause 
of American independence. He had something to 
suffer, too. He says once, "Why was I so obsti- 
nately bent on coming hither? I have been well 
punished for my error; my affections are too strongly 
rooted for me to be able to perform such deeds. I 
hope you pity me." Speaking again of himself, — 
"Be perfectly at ease about my wound; all the 
faculty * in America are engaged in my service. I 
have a friend who has spoken to them in such a 
manner that I am certain of being well attended to ; 
that friend is General Washington. 

. " This excellent man whose talents and virtues I 
admired, and whom I have learnt to revere as I 
know him better, has now become my intimate 
friend ; his affectionate interest in me instantly won 
my heart. I am established in his family, and we 
live together like two attached brothers, with mutual 
confidence and cordiality. His friendship renders 
me as happy as I can possibly be in this country. 

* Medical facility, — physicians and surgeons. 



AGE 20.] LAFAYETTE. 19 

When he sent his best surgeon to me, he told Mm to 
take charge of me as if I were his son, because he 
loved me with the same affection. Having heard 
that I wished to rejoin the army too soon, he wrote 
me a letter full of tenderness, in which he requested 
me to wait for the perfect restoration of my health. 
I give you these details, my dearest love, that you 
may feel quite certain of the care that is taken of me." 

During his recovery, while he was compelled to 
be idle, the Marquis, as he was generally called in 
the United States, became very anxious for news 
from France. In one letter he says to his wife, " It 
is dreadful to be reduced jto hold no communication 
except by letter with a person whom one loves as I 
love you, and as I shall ever love you until I draw 
my latest breath. I have not missed a single oppor- 
tunity, not even the most indirect one, of writing to 
you. Do the same, on your side, my dearest life, if 
you love me." 

Lafayette occupied himself while among the peace- 
ful Moravians with writing letters full of warlike 
plans and schemes. But by his absence from the 
army he lost only a defeat. At the battle of Ger- 
mantown, about three weeks after that of the Bran- 
dywine, the Americans were seized with a sudden 



20 LAFAYETTE. [l777. 

panic, and a fog came up which confused them, so 
that they were finally routed, though they had begun 
very avcII. But at this period of the war even 
defeats were useful to the inexperienced Ameri- 
cans, — by them they learned that they could fight, 
and needed only more training to be equal to the 
British. 

Lafayette rejoined the army early in November, 
before he could put a boot upon the wounded leg. 
Sir "William Howe was established in Philadelphia 
for the winter, and had only to get possession of two 
forts on the Delaware River. They were bravely 
defended, but at last yielded to superior force. The 
American army remained on high ground near the 
city, watching the enemy, but too weak to do much. 

Lafayette distinguished himself in a little action 
on the 25tli of November. He was reconnoitring* 
with three hundred and fifty men, and imprudently 
ventured too near one of the enemy's posts, where 
they had cannon. Instead of retreating, however, 
he boldly attacked them ; they gave way, supposing 
he had a large division of the army, and thus he had 
an opportunity to rejoin in safety the main body. 

* Examining the countrj'- or an enemy's post in a military way. 



AGE 20.] LAFAYETTE. 21 

This slight success pleased both the army and Con- 
gress ; and at this time they had to make the most 
of small gains. 

Lafayette's first campaign in America ended gloom- 
ily in the encampment at Valley Forge. He wrote 
hopefully, on the way thither. "The American 
army will endeavor to clothe itself, because it is 
almost in a state of nudity ; to form itself, because 
it requires instruction ; and to recruit itself, because 
it is feeble ; but the thirteen States are going to rouse 
themselves and send us some men. My division 
will, I hope, be one of the strongest, and I shall exert 
myself to make it one of the best Our Gen- 
eral is a man formed, in truth, for this Revolution, 
which could not have been accomplished without 
him. I see him more intimately than any other man, 
and I see that he is worthy of the adoration of his 
country. I admire each day more fully the excel- 
lence of his character and the kindness of his heart. 
We are not, I confess, so strong as I ex- 
pected, but we are strong enough to fight ; we shall 
do so, I trust, with some degree of success ; and with 
the assistance of France, we shall gain the cause 
that I cherish, because it is the cause of justice, 
because it honors humanity, because it is important 



22 LAFAYKTTE. [l777. 

to my coundy, and because my American iViouds 
and myself arc deeply engaged in it." 

Speaking of liiuiself as so young lor llie post he 
had to iill, — being ii Major-General at twenty, — 
he adds: "I read, I study, I examine, I listen, I 
rcllcct ; and the result of all this is the endeavor to 
form an opinion into which I infuse as much connnon 
sense as possible. 1 will not talk much, for fear of 
saying foolish things; 1 will still less risk acting 
much, for fear of tloing foolish things ; for I am not 
disposed to abuse the conlidencc the Americans have 
kindly placed in me." 

Lafayette's cheeri'ulncss was put to a severe test 
during this winter at Valley Forge. The sutVerings 
of the army were really terrible. The soldiers lived 
in lulls, and clothes, blankets, and shoes w^ere want- 
ing. The winter wjis a very cold one, and food often 
fell short both for oHicei*s mid men. Sickness was 
the natural consequence of so many hardships and 
exposures. It was very e;isy for men to desert* 
into the back country, and at times the force was so 
small that if Sir AVilliam Howe had attacked them 
they would have found it hard to defend themselves. 
_^ . ' 

* To loavo tlio uruiv sooivtlv. 



AGE 20.] LAFAYETTE. 23 

But he seems never to have thought of such a thing. 
The patience of the army excited every one's admi- 
ration, and was the more remarkable because the 
British both in Philadelphia and New York had 
every comfort. But the sight of their sufferings 
naturally prevented the men of the neighborhood 
from enlisting,* and troops came in very small num- 
bers from the distant States. 

The Commander-in-chief was greatly distressed at 
the condition of the soldiers, and. made every effort 
to relieve them. But the United States were very 
poor; the war had interrupted trade of all kinds, 
and Congress did not know how to provide for the 
army. 

This winter proved the truth of Washington's first 
words to Lafayette; the young Frenchman shared 
all the privations of the Americans. " He adopted in 
every respect American dress, habits, and food. He 
wished to be more simple, frugal, and austere than 
the Americans themselves." And what a change it 
must have been from living in Paris, the winter be- 
fore! There was one great pleasure in the midst 
of hardships. General Washington put great con- 

* Joining the army. 



21 LAFAYETTE. [l777. 

fidcnco in him. It was safer for liini to speak of 
anxielies and dillicuUios 1o liafayettc lliaii lo tlic 
Auioriean ollicers ; he was loss likely to bo discour- 
aj>;ed, — he was hopeful, laidiful, and true ; and Gen- 
eral AVashington, himself iii)riglit and true, valued 
that (juality more than any other in a friend. Lafay- 
ette had also inilnenee with the foreign ofliccrs, both 
ironi Franee and oilier eountrics, and thus felt that he 
was useful at A'alley Forge, Avhere there was much 
discontent among all ranks of the army. 

lie soon had an oi)por(unity of proving publicly 
his devotion to the Commander-in-chief. In addition 
lo the distresses of llu> army, AVashington had llie 
privale ti'ial of having his reputation attacked in a 
mean, imderhand a\ ay. Sevenxl discontented ollicers 
and members of Congress joined together in what was 
called Conway's Cabal. A^\^ do not know now all 
that they wanted to do, but they were certainly bent 
on ruining (\Mieral Washington's reputation as a 
soldier, antl were constantly comparing the failures 
of his last campaign with successes in other parts of 
the country. 

80 brilliant and popular a young olficer as Lafay- 
ette would have been a great gain to their party ; but 
ho despised their arts, which he saw might imppso 



AGE 20.] LAFAYETTE. 25 

upon the ignorant. People who are not accustomed 
to war do not know that it is impossible to fight 
without men and money, and the Commander-in- 
chief was obliged to keep his wants secret, lest the 
enemy should find out his weakness, and how very 
easily they might attack him. There were many 
Tories * always ready to carry reports to the British 
camp, and General Washington bore any amount of 
blame rather than risk a loss to the army. His 
friends were not idle, — they put him on his guard, 
and both in and out of Congress took pains to make 
his conduct and character known. Still he had no 
means of finding out how many officers were engaged 
in the Cabal, and, as suspicion was most painful 
to his generous temper, Lafayette's frank, openly 
expressed affection and sympathy were a special 
comfort to him this dreary winter. 

One thing which particularly troubled the Marquis 
was that General Conway, who gave his name to the 
Cabal, though an Irishman, had served in the French 
army, and professed great devotion to him. lie was 
afraid that other French officers would be led away 
by Conway's example and talking, and that his own 

* People -who took sides with England. 



26 LAFAYETTE. ^ [l778. 

name might be used quite too freely. In a letter to 
the Commander-in-chief he says: "I don't need to 
tell you that I am very sorry for all that has hap- 
pened for some time past. It is a necessary depend- 
ence * of my most tender and respectful friendship 
for you, which affection is as true and candid as the 
other sentiments of my heart, and much stronger 
than so new an acquaintance seems to admit; but 
another reason to be concerned in the present cir- 
cumstances is my ardent and perhaps enthusiastic 
desire for the happiness and liberty of this country. 
I see plainly that America can defend, herself if 
proper measures are taken, and now I begin to fear 
lest she should be lost by herself and her OAvn sons. 

" When I was in Europe, I thought that here almost 
every man was a lover of liberty, and would rather 
die free than live a slave. You can conceive my 
astonishment when I saw that Toryism was as openly 
professed as Wliiggism itself; however, at that time I 
believed that all good Americans were united togeth- 
er, — that the confidence m you was unbounded. 
Then I entertained the certitude that America would 
be independent in case she should not lose you. Take 

* Consequence. — Lafayette always wrote in English to Gen- 
eral Washington, and sometimes made little mistakes. 



AGE 20.] LAFAYETTE. 27 

away for an instant that modest diffidence of your- 
self, (which, pardon my freedom, my dear General, 
is sometimes too great, and I wish you could know 
as well as myself what difference there is between 
you and any other man,) you would see very plainly 
that if you were lost for America, there is nobody 
who could keep the army and the Revolution for six 
months." 

In General Washington's answer to the affection- 
ate letter of which this is a part, he thanked Lafay- 
ette for his friendship, explained what he supposed 
to be the reasons of Conway's disHke to him, and 
expressed his own indifference to slander, ending, as 
usual, hopefully : " I have no doubt that everything 
happens for the best, that we shall triumph over all 
our misfortunes, and in the end be happy ; when, my 
dear Marquis, if you will give me your company in 
Virginia, we will laugh at our past difficulties, and 
the folly of others." 

Thus, through various troubles, the attachment of 
these two friends of different nations, different edu- 
cation, different characters, and different ages, became 
strong and lasting. 

In the course of the winter, however, they were 
separated. The Cabal, very anxious to engage 

3 



28 LAFAYETTE. [l778. 

Lafayette in their interest, offered him a separate 
command at Albany, quite independent of the Com- 
mander-in-chief. A few soldiers in that neighbor- 
hood were called the Northern army, and an expedi- 
tion into Canada was proposed. No doubt such a 
command would have been very tempting to the 
vanity and ambition of many young officers ; but La- 
fayette's first request was that he might correspond 
with General Washington. He went to York to 
arrange plans for the expedition with Congress, to 
find out exactly how many men he might depend 
upon, and how he was to treat the Canadians. The 
Cabal soon saw that they could get no hold upon 
him. At a dinner at General Gates's house, after the 
officers had given several toasts, he remarked that 
there was one which had been forgotten, — he would 
give them, " The health of the Commander-in- 
chief!" Of course they could not refuse to drink 
it, but it -svas coldly received, and Lafayette could 
not have found a way to show his intentions more 
clearly. 



CHAPTER III. 



A NEW COMMAND. 



Lafayette set out on his horseback journey from 
York, Pennsylvania, to Albany, without any very 
bright hopes of success in his new position. The 
roads were blocked up with snow and ice, but he 
found some pleasure in the opportunity of seeing the 
country people in their homes ; he liked their simple, 
independe'nt way of living. He wrote to General 
Washington, on the way: "I go on very slowly; 
sometimes drenched by rain, sometimes covered by 
snow, and not entertaining many handsome thoughts 

about the projected incursion into Canada 

Lake Champlain is too cold for producing the least 
bit of laurel, and if I am not starved I shall be as 

proud as if I had gained three battles 

Could I believe for one single instant that this pom- 
pous command of a Northern army will let your 



30 LAFAYETTE. [l778. 

Excellency forget a little us absent friends, then I 
would send the project to the place it comes from. 
But I dare hope you will remember me sometimes." 

He was greatly disappointed to find that no prepa- 
rations had been begun at Albany ; he immediately 
gave orders for enhsting men, though checked by 
want of money. He wrote, " Dear General : Why 
am I so far from you, and what business had the 
Board of War to hurry me through the ice and snow 
without knowing what I should do, neither what they 
were doing themselves?" The plan had been to 
cross the lake upon the ice, and some Canadians 
showed an interest in the Marquis ; but the British 
general was much stronger than Congress had sup- 
posed, and repeated delays in the supplies which had 
been promised convinced Lafayette that the scheme 
was useless. He might possibly have dashed into 
the enemy's country with a handful of half-clothed 
troops, and have accomplished some one brilliant 
little action ; but it would have done no good, and he 
had the good sense not to risk men's lives for the 
sake of his own distinction. 

Still to do nothing at all was a trial, and he began 
soon to be distressed about his reputation. He wrote 
to his best friend : " I confess, my dear General, that 



AGE 20.] LAFAYETTE. 31 

I find myself of very quick feelings whenever my 
reputation and glory are concerned in anything. It 
is very hard indeed that such a part of my happiness, 
without which I cannot live, should depend upon 
schemes which I never knew of but when it is too 
late to put them into execution. I assure you, my 
most dear and respected friend, that I am more 
unhappy than I ever was. 

"My desire of doing something was such that I 
have thought of doing it by surprise with a detach- 
ment ; but it seems to me rash, and quite impossible. 
I should be very happy if you were here to give me 
some advice ; but I have nobody to consult with." 

In March the ice began to melt, and Lafayette 
with regret gave up his last hope of action, and 
obeyed the counsels of prudence. General Wash- 
ington's answer to his letter did not arrive until after 
his decision, but was full of sympathy and consola- 
tion, and Congress thanked him for his wisdom 
and forbearance. 

He endeavored to make better arrangements for 
the troops in the neighborhood of Albany, and to 
protect the country people from the attacks of the 
Indians. He was present at a meeting of chiefs of 
the Oneidas, Tuscaroras, and other tribes, with Gen- 



32 LAFAYETTE. [l778. 

eral Schuyler and Mr. Duane, who were charged 
with the management of Indian affairs. He made 
speeches, and, Uke many other Frenchmen, had much 
more influence over the Indians than the Enghsh. 
They gave him the name of Kayewla, and kept 
him in remembrance for many years. On his part, 
he was quite pleased with the politics of the old 
sachems.* 

Early in the spring Lafayette rejoined Wash- 
ington at Valley Forge, and found the army in a 
better state than when he left it. The Cabal had 
lost its power, and General Washington was more 
beloved than ever. 

The 2d of May, 1778, was celebrated joyfully by 
the army, because they had received the news that 
France had joined with them in the war against 
England. It was agreed that neither nation should 
make peace separately, and the Americans had hopes 
of great assistance from so powerful an ally.f This 
event gave much pleasure to the Marquis ; he had 
been wishing for it a long time, and though he was 
in disgrace with the French government on account 
of the manner in which he quitted the country, he 

* Chiefs of tribes. 

t A person or nation who is bound by promise to help another. 



AGE 20.] LAFAYETTE. 33 

had many friends and relations at court, and his 
letters may have influenced people in power. 

He, unlike many discontented foreigners, always 
sent home favorable accounts of the United States. 
In this country, also, he tried to make the people feel 
kindly towards France ; but there were some obsta- 
cles in his way. For hundreds of years the English 
and French had been enemies, often fighting, always 
laughing at and despising each other ; and the Amer- 
icans, being descended from the English, had inher- 
ited many of their prejudices. Lafayette* was very 
much liked here, on account of his pleasant manners, 
his enthusiasm for liberty, and his romantic story; 
and his wish was to turn his own popularity into an 
affection for liis beloved country. 

At the same time with these good tidings from 
France, came the news that Great Britain would send 
commissioners to make one more effort for peace. 
But still the King refused to acknowledge that the 
States were independent, and Congress would hsten 
to nothing short of that. 

The campaign of 1778 opened rather late. Sir 
William Howe was in no haste to leave Philadelphia. 
On the 18th of May, General Washington sent 
Lafayette with 2,000 chosen men across the Schuyl- 



34 LAFAYETTE. [l778. 

kill River, to get information of the enemy's move- 
ments and plans. The Marquis proceeded to Barren 
Hill, about eleven miles from both armies. He 
stationed his troops there, and on the morning of the 
20th was told that some red dragoons* whom he 
was expecting had arrived at Whitemarsh, on the 
left of his force. On examining carefully into the 
truth of this story, he found that a column of red- 
coated British soldiers was advancing upon him. 
He had just altered the position of his troops, that 
he might receive the enemy better, when he was 
told that they were also on a road behind him. 
This information was brought to him in presence of 
the men, and, unpleasant as it was, he forced himself 
to smile. No general should ever look discouraged. 

He immediately decided to march rapidly, but 
without hurrying, to Matson's Ford ; the enemy was 
nearer to it than he. General Grant, commanding 
a detachment of 7,000 men, had possession of heights 
above the road ; but he was deceived by Lafayette's 
coolness and skilful arrangement of his men, and 
fancied that he saw but a part of his force. While he 
was examining, the whole body passed by him. 

* Soldiers who are usually on horseback, heavier armed than 
cavalry. 



AGE 20.] LAFAYETTE. 35 

General Grey's column of 2,000, now in the rear, 
was imposed upon in the same way, and Lafayette 
succeeded in arranging his men on the ojDposite bank 
of the Schuylkill before any attack had been made. 
A third division of the British army came up, and 
the generals were astonished to find that they had 
only each other to fight with. They decided not to 
cross the river, but returned to Philadelphia, much 
disappointed that the Marquis de Lafayette was not 
their prisoner. Sir William Howe had been so sure 
of taking him, that he had invited some ladies to 
meet him at supper. Lafayette likewise marched 
back to Valley Forge, where he was received with 
great joy. The alarm had reached the camp, and 
General Washington had feared not only a repulse, 
but the loss of the best men in his army. The 
Marquis's conduct on this day added much to his 
reputation as a military man, for it was thought 
remarkable that so young a general had proved more 
than a match for two old ones. 

In June Lafayette received the sad news of the 
death of his oldest child, a little girl. For a time, 
all his thoughts turned to France, and he would have 
been glad to go home to console his wife ; but a 
soldier cannot leave his post in the middle of a 
campaign. 



36 LAFAYETTE. [l778. 

On the 17th of June the British army left Phil- 
adelphia, and began to march through New Jersey. 

There was a great division of opinion among the 
American officers as to the propriety of attacking 
them, or letting them go undisturbed. General Lee, 
a distinguished officer, (English by birth, but who 
had served in many countries,) spoke warmly in favor 
of letting them go. He said the time was unfavor- 
able for an attack, and that the Americans should 
rather help than hinder the departure of the enemy. 

Lafayette took the opposite side of the question, 
and thought it would be disgraceful to allow the 
enemy to pass quietly through the State. Though 
Lee's opinion had great weight, on account of his 
age and experience, some of the officers agreed with 
Lafayette, and the Commander-in-chief decided that 
an attack should be made on the rear of the British 
force. 

A division of the army was to be sent forward for 
this purpose. The command of it belonged by rank 
to General Lee ; but, as he had never liked the plan. 
General Washington, with his consent, gave it to 
Lafayette. Lee then changed his mind and wished 
to take it himself, but was persuaded to yield ; find- 
ing, however, it was to be a large detachment, he 



AGE 20.] LAFAYETTE. 37 

again requested the Commander-in-chief to allow 
him to lead it. So many changes were very trying 
to Lafayette's temper, — he was a young general, 
and eager for the glory which Lee had won years 
before ; the command of a division, any opportunity 
for distinction, was very rare during this tedious war, 
and much sought for, — but he was thoroughly 
obliging. General Lee said to him, " It is my fortune 
and honor that I place in your hands ; you are too 
generous to cause the loss of both ; " and Lafayette, 
after he had actually left the camp, wrote, in a note 
to General Washington, " Sir, I want to repeat .to you 
in writing what I have told to you ; which is, that 
if you believe it, or if it is believed necessary or use- 
ful to the good of the service and the honor of Gen- 
eral Lee, to send him down with a couple of thousand 
men, or any greater force, I will cheerfully obey 
and serve him, not only out of duty, but out of what 
I owe to that gentleman's character." This was the 
more generous on his part, because he and Lee had 
constant little disagreements. General Lee had very 
strong English prejudices, and the Marquis was an 
ardent Frenchman. Finally the Commander-in- 
chief increased the number of troops, thus making 
it more proper to give the command to the person 



38 LAFAYETTE. [l778. 

next to himself in rank, and at the same time 
requested General Lee not to alter any arrangements 
which Lafayette had already made. 

On the 28th of June the battle of Monmouth was 
fought. The Americans attacked the British army 
as it was leaving the town, but General Lee's con- 
duct was very strange ; lie ordered his men to retreat 
early in the day, and at the very moment when the 
Commander-in-chief was bringing up the main body 
of the army. The meeting of course produced great 
confusion, and General Washington was exceedingly 
displeased. With great quickness and with the best 
judgment, he rearranged the troops, and the Amer- 
icans gained a decided advantage. Lafayette says of 
him : " General Washington was never greater in 
battle than in this action. His graceful bearing on 
horseback, his calm and dignified deportment, which 
still retained some trace of the displeasure he had 
experienced in the morning, were all calculated to 
excite the highest degree of enthusiasm." The 
Marquis himself Avas in constant motion from four 
o'clock in the mornino; until nio;ht, when the battle 
ended. He was first ordered to cross an exposed 
plain to attack the enemy's left, and then to fall back ; 
he had only to obey General Lee's orders, though he 



AGE 20.] LAFAYETTE. 39 

could not understand them. Afterwards, while Gen- 
eral Washmgton was forming his new lines, he 
undertook to keep back the advancing enemy. " The 
heat was so intense that soldiers fell dead without 
having received a single wound." 

At night Washington and Lafayette lay down 
upon the same cloak, talking of General Lee's 
behavior, and expecting to renew the fight in the 
morning. But when daylight came they found that 
the British had moved on, and General Washington 
thought his men too much exhausted to pursue them 
in such sultry weather. 

The next important event was the arrival of a 
French fleet off New York harbor. Lafayette was 
disappointed in his first hopes that the ships would 
attack the city by sea, while Washington did the 
same by land. No pilot could be found to take the 
large vessels into the harbor. 

A plan was then formed for an attack on Rhode 
Island by the fleet combined with land forces. Gen- 
eral Sullivan was already at Providence, and La- 
fayette and General Greene were despatched from 
head-quarters. 

But this expedition was likewise unfortunate. 
The land forces were not ready when the fleet ap- 



40 LAFAYETTE. [l778. 

peared off Newport, and while the French admiral* 
was waiting for them, Lord Howe, who had watched 
his movements, came to meet him. The two fleets 
immediately put out to sea, with the intention of 
fighting; but a violent storm scattered them, and 
when the French admiral returned to Newport he 
declared that he must go immediately to Boston to 
refit his ships. This was a terrible blow to the 
Americans who, in the mean time, had drawn near 
Newport, and were hoping to make the combined 
attack. Lafayette and General Greene were sent 
on board Count d'Estaing's ship to urge him to 
remain, but they could not prevail upon him to 
do so. 

Lafayette's regret, deep as it was, was soon min- 
gled with indignation. All the American officers, 
except General Greene, spoke of the admiral's con- 
duct with great bitterness, and General Sullivan 
even went so far as to say publicly "our allies 
have deserted us." It was perfectly natural that 
they should feel vexed and disappointed, but very 
unwise to express their feelings so strongly ; for when 
people of different nations are trying to act together, 

* Count d'Estaing. 



AGE 20.] LAFAYETTE. 41 

they must pass lightly over causes of disagreement, 
and do their best to keep the peace while they make 
war. 

Such language touched Lafayette in a most sen- 
sitive place ; his country's honor was dear to him. 
He wrote to General Wasliington : " My reason for 
not writing the same day the French fleet went to 
Boston was that I did not choose to trouble your 
friendship with the sentiments of an injured, afflicted 
heart, and injured by that very people I came from 
so-far to love and support. Don't be surprised, my 
dear General ; the generosity of your honorable mind 
would be offended at the shocking sight I have 
under my eyes." And further on, after a long account 
of the troubles, he says : " Remember, my dear 
General, that I don't speak to the Commander-in- 
chief, but to my friend; that I am far from com- 
plaining of anybody. I have no complaints to make 
to you against any one, but I lament with you that I 
have had an occasion of seeing so ungenerous sen- 
timents in American hearts I earnestly beg 

you will recommend to the several chief persons of 
Boston to do everything they can to put the French 
fleet in a situation for sailing soon. Give me leave 
to add that I wish many people, by the declaration 



42 LAFAYETTE. [l778. 

of your sentiments in that affair, could learn how to 
regulate theirs, and blush at the sight of your gener- 
osity. 

" Farewell, my dear General. Whenever I quit 
you, I meet with some disappointment and misfortune. 
I did not need it, to desire seeing you as much as 
possible." 

The Commander-in-chief did, in fact, act as peace- 
maker, and wrote most pressing letters to the officers, 
trying to infuse into their minds a little of his own 
patience and consideration. In spite of his indig- 
nation, Lafayette did the same, and made the best 
use of his influence in Boston. He was constantly 
sent with messages from the army to the fleet, and 
even followed the Admiral to Boston to arrange 
plans. 

While he was absent. General Sullivan removed 
the troops from the neighborhood of Newport to the 
northern end of Rhode Island, and Lafayette hurried 
back, expecting an engagement. He travelled on 
horseback eighty miles in eight hours, but arrived 
only in time to meet the main body crossing the 
ferry between Rhode Island and the main land. 
A thousand men, the rear-guard,* had been left on 

* Those who come last in marching. 



AGE 20.] LAFAYETTE. 43 

the island, and were almost surrounded by the enemy. 
Lafayette took the command of them, and succeeded 
in withdrawing them without the loss of a single life. 
When Congress returned thanks for his conduct 
during this retreat, they also expressed their grat- 
itude to him for undertaking the journey to Boston 
*^ at a period when he might rationally have expected 
an engagement." 

No battle took place in the State of Rhode Island, 
and the British were left at Newport exactly as they 
had been before the expedition was proposed. 
Lafayette went again to Boston for a little while, 
hoping to be of use to his countrymen there, and 
afterwards rejoined the main body of the army. 

At this time, Lord Carlisle, one of the British 
commissioners sent to Congress, made use, in a 
pubHc letter, of some expression insulting to France. 
Lafayette, therefore, challenged him to fight a duel, 
which was rather a boyish act, as Lord Carlisle was 
not a man to fight, nor in a proper position to accept 
a challenge. He refused it; but even people who 
disapproved of Lafayette's conduct saw clearly that 
his high spirit and love of his country were the 
motives of it. Fighting a duel was not in those 
days, and especially among the French, the disgrace- 

4 



44 LAFAYETTE. [l778. 

ful act that it is now considered in most civilized 
countries. 

The campaign of 1778 drt?w to a close in the 
United States, and, as France -was at war, Lafayette 
thought it his duty to return to his native country, 
and asked permission of Congress to do so. This 
was immediately granted, with the warmest thanks 
for his services. A sword was ordered to be pre- 
sented to him, and a ship of war, the Alliance, 
chosen to convey him home. 

He was to embark at Boston, and set out on 
horseback from Philadelphia. His journey was often 
interrupted by entertainments at various places, and 
was at last brought to an end by a severe fever. 
He had had a great deal of labor and exposure, 
besides excitement of mind, at Rhode Island ; and, 
although he struggled hard to keep up during this 
journey, his strength was no longer sufficient to resist 
the violence of the disease. Fortunately he was 
able to reach Fishkill, on the Hudson, eight miles 
from the headquarters of the army. Dr. Cochran, 
the chief surgeon, was devoted to him, and General 
Washington came every day to inquire about him. 
He became so ill that his death was constantly 
expected for several days, and every one in the 



AGE 21.] LAFAYETTE. 45 

army, from tlie Commander-in-cliief to the private 
soldiers, expressed the sincerest grief. Tlie idea of 
this young foreigner dying in a strange land just 
when he was expecting to go home, touched every 
one's feelings. His mind was perfectly clear; he 
made some necessary arrangements in case of his 
death, and then only regretted that he could not see 
again those whom he loved best. 

But the fever did not prove fatal ; he recovered, 
and at the end of three months was thinking again 
of his voyage. He took a most affectionate leave of 
General Washington, to whom he had become more 
and more attached, ever since he arrived in America. 
He respected and admired Washington as much as 
he loved him ; — when absent, he constantly turned 
to him for sympathy and advice ; when they could be 
together, he was always happy. What a fortunate 
man to have such a friend ! 

He proceeded to Boston in January, 1779. The 
citizens, who had always been very friendly to him, 
now paid him the kindest attentions, and he was sup- 
plied with excellent Madeira wine, which he found 
very useful in restoring his strength. He was de- 
layed a few days, because the crew of the Alliance was 
not complete, and it was finally filled up with some 



46 LAFAYETTF. [l779. 

British deserters and prisoners. The Mai'quis wrote 
letters to Canada, sent presents to the Indians, and 
repeated his farewells to his friends. A long letter 
to General Washington ends thus : " Farewell, my 
most beloved General. It is not without emotion I 
bid you this last adieu before so long a separation. 
Don't forget an absent friend, and believe me, for 
ever and ever, with the highest respect and tenderest 
affection, Lafayette." As he did not sail immediately, 
he opened his letter to say good by once more. 



CHAPTER lY. 



THE TWO ALLIANCES. 



The Alliance sailed on the lltli of January, 1779, 
and her passage was stormy ; but Lafayette had to 
meet a greater danger within the ship than that from 
winds and waves without. Eight days before they 
reached the coast of France, the Enghshmen on 
board formed a design of getting possession of the 
ship and guns, fjnd then killing the officers, passen- 
gers, and any of the crew who should resist. They 
would then have taken the ship into some British 
harbor, and would have received as much money as 
she WBS worth. 

Fortunately, the mutineers,* mistaking an Ameri- 
can for an Irishman, told him of their plot, and 
offered him the command of the vessel. He gave 

* Men determined not to obey their officers. 



48 LAFAYETTE. [l779. 

warning to the captain and to Lafayette just one hour 
before the ship was to be seized. They rushed on 
deck, sword in hand, and, with the assistance of the 
passengers and French and American sailors, secured 
thirty-one of the British. The rest of the crew 
were not strong enough to carry on the mutiny, and 
the ship went safely on her Avay. 

As soon as he landed in France, Lafayette has- 
tened to Paris, and was delighted to meet his own 
family and friends once more. He had much to tell 
of a world unknown to Parisians, but which he was 
determined to make them care for. His mind was 
constantly full of schemes for carrying on the war, 
■ — for annoying England and helping America. He 
was still out of favor with government for the way 
in which he had left the kingdom ; but all France 
was proud of his bravery, and delighted with his 
romantic enthusiasm. We can hardly imagine how 
much a young nobleman who had had such uncom- 
mon adventures would be talked about. He was, as 
a matter of form, desired not to appear in public 
places, and to visit only his relations ; but, as he and 
his wife had an enormous number of them, such an 
order did not oblige him to lead a very quiet life. 
The court ladies were eager to see hirg, and the 



AGE 21.] LAFAYETTE. 49 

ministers had many questions to ask him. He soon 
received the honorable appointment of colonel of a 
regiment of the King's dragoons, and began to 
correspond with the minister of war about his 
various jDlans for the benefit of his adopted 
country. 

He had left the United States fired with the idea 
of a grand expedition against Canada; but the 
French government was as slow to engage in so ex- 
pensive a plan as Congress had been, and he was 
obliged to be content with a more moderate scheme. 
He next proposed that a small fleet should apj)ear off 
some of the large and rich English towns, such as 
Liverpool ; the inhabitants, for fear of injury to their 
houses and shops, would probably pay large sums 
of money, and the amount so collected should be 
devoted to the American cause. 

But this project also was not acceptable to the 
ministers, and while they were taking counsel with 
Spain about a grand invasion of England, Lafayette 
asked and obtained for the United States the assist- 
ance of land troops, which had not been sent up to 
this time, and which Congress had not desired him 
to ask for. He was perfectly sure, however, that 
they were necessary, and that the ministers would be 



50 LAFAYETTE. [ 1779 

more ready to send a good fleet if they were inter- 
ested in the officers of the army. 

In August, 1779, the grandson of Dr. Franklin 
who .was the envoy of the United States in Paris, 
presented to him the sword ordered by Congress, 
which had been made in France. It was engraved 
with figures representing his exploits at Gloucester, 
Barren Hill, Monmouth, and Rhode Island. Dr. 
Franklin said, in the letter Avhicli accompanied it, 
" By the help of the exquisite artists of France, I find 
it easy to express everything but the sense we have 
of your worth and our obligations to you ; for this, 
figures and even words are insufficient." 

Lafayette's heart was certainly half in America, 
durino; the whole summer. He wrote to General 
"Washington : " I cannot express to you how uneasy 
I feel on account of your* health, and the dangers 
you are, perhaps at this moment, exposing yourself 
to. These you may possibly laugh at and call wo- 
manlike considerations ; but so, my dear friend, I feel, 
and I never could conceal the sentiments of my heart. 

I know, my dear General, you wish to hear 

something about my private affairs. My family, my 
friends, and my countrymen made me such a recep- 
tion, and showed me every day such an affection as 



AGE 21.] LAFAYETTE. 51 

I should not have dared to hope What I 

wish, my dear General, what would make me the 
happiest of men, is to join American colors, or to put 
under your orders a division of four or five thousand 
countrymen of mine 

" All Europe wants to see you so much, my dear 
Sir, that you cannot refuse them that pleasure. I 
have boldly affirmed that you will pay me a visit 
after the peace is settled; so that, if you deny me, you 
will hurt your friend's reputation throughout the 

world I most earnestly entreat you, my 

dear General, to let me hear from you. Write me 
how you do, how things are going on. The minut- 
est detail will be interesting. Don't forget me, my 
dear General ; be ever as affiictionate to me as you 
have been; these sentiments I deserve from the 
ardent ones which fill my heart." 

In a letter written on the 7tli of October, 1779, he 
laments that he has not once heard from General 
Washington, and says : '^ Let me beseech you, my 
dear General, by that mutual tender and experienced 
friendship in which I have put an immense portion 
of my happiness, to be very exact in inquiring for 
occasions, and never to miss those which may convey 
to me letters that I shall be so much pleased to re- 



52 LAFAYETTE. [l779. 

ceive Be certain, my dear General, that in 

any situation, in any case, let me act as a French or 
as an American otHcer, my first wish, my first pleas- 
ure, will be to serve again with you. However 
happy I am in France, however M-ell treated by my 
country and king, I have taken such a habit of being 
with you, — I am tied to you, to America, to my fel- 
low-soldiers by such an affection, — that the moment 
when I shall sail for your country will be one of the 
most wished-for and the happiest of my life." 

During the autumn and winter he persevered in 
his efforts to obtain money and land forces for the 
American army, and he was at last successful ; the 
money was placed at General Washington's disposal, 
the troops were to be commanded by Count Rocham^ 
beau, and Lafayette was to resume his station in 
the service of the United States. 

He sailed from France the second time in March, 
1780. No despatches from government delayed his 
departure, and on the 27th of April he wrote from 
Boston harbor to announce his arrival to the Com- 
mander-in-chief. The people of Boston received the 
Marquis with the greatest joy. He was taken in 
triumph to Governor Hancock's house, but he was 
too impatient to see General "Washington to allow 



AGE 22.] LAFAYETTE. 53 

himself to be long detained by any festivities. This 
welcome, however, was for himself; nothing was 
known as yet of the good news he brought. 

,He hastened on to head-quarters. " After the first 
pleasure of their meeting was over," he learned from 
General "Washington the bad state of the American 
army. Money and provisions were scarce, and it 
was very difficult to collect men; the country was 
exhausted and indiffisrent. Then Lafayette revealed 
his good tidings ; he had gone beyond the orders of 
Congress, but the wants of the United States were 
exactly those which he had supposed, and Wash- 
ington felt the strongest hope that the timely arrival 
of the French fleet would rouse the Americans to 
fresh exertions. 

Secret preparations were made for the fleet at 
Newport, Rhode Island. It was expected in July, 
and Lafayette took up his station in the front of the 
Commander-in-chief's division of the army, which was 
established on tKe banks of the Hudson River. He 
had brought from France swords, banners, and some 
ornaments for the officers and soldiers of his corps,* 
— he M^as so much attached to them, that it was like 

* A body of troops used to acting together. 



54 LAFAYETTE. [l779. 

giving presents to his friends. Clothes, much needed 
by many others beside his men, had been promised 
in France, but never came. 

The French fleet arrived at the appointed time, 
and the first plan proposed was that of a joint attack 
on New York ; but all hopes of an action were soon 
overthrown by the blockade of the French fleet in 
Newport harbor. The English squadron was decid- 
edly larger, and the French admiral could not move. 
Count E-ochambeau would very gladly have joined 
General Washington in an attack by land ; but there 
seemed not the smallest prospect of success, unless 
the ships could assist them. This state of things 
was exceedingly trying to Lafayette, who was Wash- 
ington's messenger and secretary in all his communi- 
cations with the Count, and was positively longing 
to see something accomplished. 

During his first visit to Rhode Island, however, he 
had the pleasure of finding the allied armies on very 
friendly terms. He wrote to General Washington 
that, on the arrival of some American militia-men, 
" every French soldier and officer took an American 
with him, and divided his bed and his supper with 

him in a most friendly manner The French 

discipline is such that chickens and pigs walk between 



AGE 22.] LAFAYETTE. 55 

the tents without bemg disturbed, and that there is 
in the camp a corn-field of which not one leaf has 
been touched. The Tories don't know what to say 
to it." To understand what high praise this is, you 
must remember that soldiers are generally very 
careless in their habits, and are ajot to compel farmers 
to give them whatever they can see in the way of 
food. To prevent their doing mischief requires 
great care on the part of the officers, as well as obe- 
dience and good-temper from the men. 

While waiting for further aid from France, Count 
Rochambeau was very desirous of seeing General 
Washington, who found it difficult to leave head- 
quarters. On the 18th of September, however, he 
set out for Hartford, Connecticut, where he had a 
most agreeable meeting with the Count. He re- 
turned to West Point on the 25 th, a few hours after 
the escape of General Arnold, who had betrayed the 
place to the enemy. The arrest of the unfortunate 
Major Andre, the British officer who made the 
agreement with Arnold, prevented Sir Henry Clin- 
ton from gaining any advantage by this piece of 
treachery ; but the first discovery of it was appaUing 
to the Commander-in-chief, and to all those about 
him. Lafayette was walking up to Arnold's house 
with General Washington and General Knox, when 



56 LAFAYETTE. [l780. 

Colonel Hamilton came out and said a few words to 
the Commander-in-chief in a low voice, bnt this 
probably excited no surprise in the minds of his 
companions. In a short time, however, Washington 
rejoined them, and put into their hands the papers 
which proved Arnold's guilt. They were shocked, 
for, though General Arnold's character was not en- 
tirely without reproach, he had been one of the 
bravest and most distinguished officers of the Amer- 
ican army. But no time could be lost in feeling, — 
it was necessary to act ; and since it was too late to 
capture Arnold, all eftbrts were turned to the secur- 
ity of West Point. Lafayette shared his General's 
anxiety, and did not fail to observe and admire his 
kind and delicate attention to Mrs. Arnold, who was 
left alone in a most unhappy condition. 

He was one of the fourteen .generals who tried 
Major Andre, and decided that he must suffer death 
by hanging, — the usual fate of a spy; yet his 
feelings were very much touched by Andre's situa- 
tion, and the cheerful fortitude with which he bore 
his sentence. General Washington would have been 
glad to have exchanged Andre for Arnold ; but Sir 
Henry Clinton would not consent to such an arrange- 
ment, though he made great efforts to save Andre's 
life. 



CHAPTER y. 



ACTIVE OPERATIONS. 



In October of this year Lafayette wrote a long 
letter to the Commander-in-chief, urging an immedi- 
ate attack on the city of New York. He was very 
tired of reconnoitring parties, and plans which came 
to nothing ; and he felt that some action was needed, 
both for the honor of America and the credit of the 
French army. General Washington in his heart 
desired activity quite as much as his young friend ; 
but he did not think the tim^ favorable enough for 
so large a scheme, and he could only recommend to 
Lafayette the patience which he so constantly prac- 
tised himself. 

In November the Marquis de Chastellux, a French 
traveller who visited the Commander-in-chief at 
head-quarters, thus describes Lafayette's appearance : 
" We availed ourselves of the cessation of the raui 



58 LAFAYETTE. [l781. 

to accompany his Excellency to the camp of the 
Marquis. We found all his troops ranged in line of 
battle on the heights to the left, and himself at their 
head, expressing both by his deportment and physi- 
ognomy that he preferred seeing me there to receiv- 
ing me on his estate in Auvergne. The confidence 
and attachment of his troops are most precious in his 
eyes, for he looks upon that species of wealth as one 
of which he cannot be deprived. But what I think 
still more flattering to a young man of his age is 
the influence which he has acquired in political as 
well as military circles. I have no fear of being 
contradicted when I assert that simple letters from 
him have often had more influence in some of the 
States of the Union than the strongest invitations on 
the part of Congress." 

In February, 1781, Lafayette was despatched 
from head-quarters to Eprtsmouth, Virginia, to oppose 
with but a small force the traitor Arnold. The 
French fleet which was to assist him was defeated at 
sea on its way, and Lafayette, having blockaded 
Portsmouth, was retreating northwards, when at 
Head of Elk he met despatches from General Wash- 
ington. These informed him that reinforcements 
were to go from the British head-quarters to Arnold, 



AGE 23.] LAFAYETTE. 59 

and tliat he must aid the Virgmians. Now, like all 
American generals, Lafayette found himself beset 
by difficulties. His men were from the New Eng- 
land States, and were unwilling to be exposed to the 
southern climate; they began to desert. Lafayette 
told them, in a general order,* that he was setting out 
on a difficult, dangerous enterprise, and that whoever 
wished to quit him might obtain leave to do so by 
coming to head-quarters. From that day there were 
no more desertions ; the men felt it an honor to follow 
their leader, and one sergeant, who was lame and 
could not walk, hired a cart rather than be left 
behind. They were without proper clothes for a 
southern campaign, and Lafayette borrowed money 
to buy linen for them, which the ladies of Baltimore 
made into shirts. 

He had not men enough for fighting battles. His 
objects in this campaign were to deceive and annoy 
the enemy, to protect the military stores which 
supplied the army of General Greene in Carolina, 
and to prevent the British from gaining any advantage 
from their superior troops and equipments. He 
immediately distinguished himself by a rapid march 

* Directions and advice from a general, v/hich are read aloud 

to the troops. 

5 



60 LAFAYETTE. [l781. 

to Richmond, the capital of Virginia, which greatly 
astonished the British General Phillips. This officer 
died soon after, and Lafayette refused to receive a 
letter from Arnold, who succeeded him in the com- 
mand. This spirited determination pleased General 
Washington and Congress. 

Perhaps it seems strange that the commanders of 
hostile armies should have any occasion to write to 
each other ; but there are always questions of busi- 
ness coming up ; sometimes relating to the treatment 
and exchange of prisoners ; sometimes to the protec- 
tion of the country people near the camp, who are 
always in danger of being robbed ; and in various 
ways generals can show civility and respect for each 
other. By refusing to hold any communication with 
General Arnold, Lafayette plainly showed that he 
did not think him a j)i'oper person for an American 
officer to speak to. 

Virginia became at this time the principal scene 
of war. General Greene was active in the Carolinas, 
but was ill-supplied, had been defeated, and could 
only hope to delay Lord Cornwallis's arrival in 
Virginia. His lordship was fighting his way up from 
Charleston, South Carolina, to join General PhilHjjs. 

Between the Commander-in-chief, Greene, and 



AGE 23.] LAFAYETTE. 61 

Lafayette, there was the most perfect agreement 
both in wishes and actions. General Washington 
watched both divisions, and assisted both as far as 
he could ; but he could not leave his station near New 
York, which was still to be attacked whenever the 
long-expected French fleet should arrive. General 
Greene was hke Washington, — patient, prudent, 
and hopeful ; but Lafayette needed a double share of 
discretion when in May he found himself opposed to 
Lord Cornwallis, the best British general in America. 

From the Marquis's youth and inexperience, 
Cornwallis promised himself an easy victory, and 
was confident enough to say, in one of his letters, 
"The boy cannot escape me." He had one great 
advantage in mounting his dragoons on the fine 
Virginia horses which he found in abundance in the 
stables of the planters. Lafayette says, in one of his 
letters : " There is no fighting here unless you have 
a naval superiority, or an army mounted on race- 
horses ; " and, again, he speaks of the " immense and 
excellent body of horse, whom the militia fear as if 
they were so many wild beasts." He was, however, 
joined by many of the young men of the State, whose 
intelligence and high spirit were of great use to him. 

After having gained possession of Richmond, he 



62 LAFAYETTE. *[l781. 

was not strong enough to remain there, and slowly- 
retreated before Lord Cornwallis, hojDing to be joined 
by some Pennsylvania troops. He never allowed the 
two armies to meet in such a way that there could 
be an engagement ; and yet he moved as slowly 
as possible, leaving each place just as the British 
advance guard entered it. He could not contmue 
long on this plan ; for the Pennsylvanians did not 
come at the time they were expected, and there 
were some stores at Albemarle Old Court House, 
which it was necessary to guard. It was supposed 
that he must pass in front of the whole English army, 
and so expose himself to certain defeat ; but he dis- 
covered an old road, which had been long unused, 
had it mended by night, and led his men success- 
fully to the spot. Lord Cornwallis was surprised 
to hear of him established in so strong a position. 
He now turned towards Richmond and Williamsburg, 
and Lafayette, being joined by the Pennsylvania 
troops, under General Wayne, and by another re- 
inforcement, under Bai'on Steuben, ventured to follow 
him. 

There were constant skirmishes, but nothing that 
could be called a regular attack until the 6th of July, 
when the British army was crossing James River, 



AGE 23.] LAFAYETTE. 63 

on the march from Williamsburg to Portsmouth. 
Lafayette, believing that the larger part of the army 
had crossed, ordered an attack upon what he sup- 
posed to be a rear-guard. Lord Cornwallis, intending 
to deceive him, had sent forward, with great parade, 
only a small detachment, and received the Americans 
with the main body of his army. General Wayne, 
nick-named Mad Anthony, was in command, and 
when he found out his danger continued to advance, 
thinking it safer than to retreat. Lafayette, with 
fresh troops, was ready to follow, if he were needed ; 
but, as he listened to the heavy firing, it struck him 
that there must be more than a rear-guard engaged, 
— he galloped to a place where he could see the ac- 
tion, and immediately sent assistance to Wayne, with 
orders to fall back. This was successfully done, and, 
as it was growing dark. Lord Cornwallis did not pur- 
sue him. The violent beginning and sudden end of 
the attack made him suspect a snare. 

This was a severe conflict. " Our field officers," 
says General Wayne, "were generally dismounted 
by having their horses killed or wounded under 
them. I will not condole with the Marquis for the 
loss of two of his, as he was frequently requested to 
keep at a greater distance. His natural bravery 
rendered him deaf to admonition." 



64 LAB^AYETTE. [l781. 

A few days later, the British proceeded to Ports- 
mouth, which they considered a very advantageous 
place, on account of the communication with New 
York. Lafayette had been hoping that they would 
£fo to the sea-coast, as he thousrht it would then be 
much easier for him to watch them on land, and 
believed that a French fleet would surely come, in 
the course of the season, to blockade them by sea. 
He wrote to General Washington, saying that he was 
glad of this arrangement ; and about the same time 
the enemy got possession of a letter to him from the 
Commander-in-chief in which he spoke of his plans 
for an attack upon New York, and gave the Marquis 
permission to return to head-quarters and take pai*t 
in it. This letter made the British feel very easy in 
Virginia, and consider New York alone as the place 
to be protected. 

The active campaign of the last four months was 
now exchanged for a steady watching of the enemy 
at Portsmouth, and constant communication with 
head-quarters. On the 20tli of July, Lafayette wTote: 
" I am entirely a stranger to everything that passes 
out of Virginia, and Virginian operations being for 
the present in a state of languor, I have more time 
to think of my solitude ; in a word, my dear General, 



AGE 23.] LAFAYETTE. 65 

I am homesick, and if I cannot go to head-quarters, 
wish at least to hear from thence. I am anxious 
to know your opinion of the Virginian campaign. 

So long as my lord wished for an action, 

not one gun has been fired ; the moment he declined 
it, we have been skirmishing ; but I took care never 
to commit the army." And to Colonel Hamilton he 
wrote, "Independence has rendered me the more 
cautious, as I know my own warmth." 

At the end of July he saw the greatest part of 
Cornwallis's army at Portsmouth embark on board 
vessels which did not immediately sail. He supposed 
they must be going to New York, but in less than 
three weeks found out they were removed to York- 
town and Gloucester Point, where they began to fort- 
ify. Li the mean time he had heard from General 
Washington that the French fleet would arrive in 
Chesapeake Bay, instead of New York Harbor. 
The attack on New York was given up, and Vir- 
ginia was to be the scene of action. Lafayette no 
longer regretted that he had been sent away from 
head-quarters. He followed Lord Cornwallis and 
took measures to shut him in completely, while the 
British General felt so secure within his fortifi- 
cations, and with only Lafayette for an opponent, 



66 LAFAYETTE. [l781. 

that he offered to send some of his men to New 
York. 

Lafayette wrote to his wife, when matters were 
thus far advanced : " It was not prudent in the 
General to confide to me such a command. If I 
had been unfortunate, the pubhc would have called 
that partiality an error of judgment." But he had 
already proved that the Commander-in-chief had 
judged wisely of the capacity of his young general. 

About this time Lafayette wanted a spy to send 
into the British camp, and a New Jersey soldier 
named Morgan was pointed out to him as a fit 
person to be employed. It is not an easy thing to 
find a spy : a man must be trustworthy and faithful 
to his own officer, and yet willing to deceive the 
enemy; he must be observing, and yet must not 
appear to be getting information. Morgan was 
unwilling to put himself in such a position, but at 
last consented, on condition that, if he should be 
killed, the General would have a full account of the 
case printed in the New Jersey newspapers, so that 
no reproach might fall upon his honor. He went to 
the British camp and faithfully obeyed orders. After 
several weeks had passed, thinking he could no 
longer be useful, he came back, and brought with 



AGE 23.] LAFAYETTE. 67 

him five deserters and a prisoner. The next day 
the General, to reward him, offered to make him a 
sergeant. Morgan thanked him, but dechned, say- 
ing that he thought himself a good soldier, but was 
not certain of being a good sergeant. He likewise 
refused other offers. " What can I, then, do for 
you ? " inquired Lafayette. " I have only one favor 
to ask," replied Morgan. " During my absence my 
gun has been taken from me ; I value it very much, 
and I should like to have it back again." Orders 
were given that the gun should be found, and it was 
his only reward for this difficult, dangerous service. 

On the 1st of September the French fleet, under 
Count de Grasse, arrived. The Marquis de Saint 
Simon immediately landed with three thousand sol- 
diers. Lafayette added his force to theirs, and took 
up a strong position at Williamsburg. Lord Corn- 
wallis marched out, intending to make an attack ; but 
finding them so strong, contented himself with im- 
proving his fortifications at Yorktown. In an en- 
gagement at sea between the French fleet and the 
British under Admiral Graves, Count de Grasse 
was victorious, and Lord Cornwallis's confidence 
began to waver a little as he saw himself blockaded 
on both sides. 



68 LAFAYETTE. [l7Sl. 

Lafayette was now exposed to a great temptation, 
or wliat might have boon a groat temptation to a 
more sellish man. The French admiral and tlie 
Marqnis de Saint Simon strongly nrged him to 
make an assanlt npon YorktoAvn. They said that he 
had had the danger, fatigue, and anxiety of the 
campaign, and that it was but tair that he should 
have the honor of receiving Lord Cornwallis's sur- 
render. But Lafayette would not listen to any such 
proposals. He told them that General Washington 
and Count Rochambean were already on their way, 
and that the combined forces would make so large 
an army that Loixl CornwalHs would surely yield to 
a regular siege, and iu that way many lives would 
be spared Avhich must bo lost in a violent attack 
made by his present force. 



CHAPTER VI. 

SUCCESS THE REWARD OF PATIEXCE. 

The Commander-in-chief and Rochambeau arrived 
on the 14th of September, and Lafayette saw one of 
his cherished wishes fulfilled when General Wash- 
ington was at the head of the united army of French 
and Americans. Even after their arrival, however, 
the whole scheme was put in peril for a day by the 
French admiral's declaring that it was not prudent 
for him to remain at Yorktown, and that he must put 
out to sea to meet and fight with some new British 
men-of-war which had just arrived at New York. 
Lafayette, at General Washington's request, went 
on board the admiral's ship, and with considerable 
difliculty persuaded him to wait until the siege of 
Yorktown should be ended. Then the works went 
on; the Americans gradually surrounded the town 
with earth-works, redoubts, and trenches, and all the 



70 LAFAYETTE. [l781. 

regular means of besieging a city, while Lord Corn- 
wallis continued to strengthen his fortifications. 

On the 11th of October the siege was begun by- 
General Washington's firing the first gun. For 
several days a steady firing was kept up on both 
sides; cannon-balls were constantly crossing each 
other in the air, and at night red-hot shot glared out 
of the darkness. One English ship and some smaller 
vessels were set on fire by them, and as the flames 
ran up to the top of the masts, the sight was at once 
splendid and horrible. The noise of the large guns, 
and of the shells bursting and tearing up the ground 
all about them, was perpetual, and added not a little 
to the dreadful effect of the scene. 

On the 14th it was decided to take by storm two 
redoubts, the only defences outside the city which the 
enemy still held. One was to be attacked by the 
French under the Baron de Viomenil, the other by 
the Americans under Lafayette. The Baron had 
said once, in conversation, that in an attack of this 
sort he thought the French superior to the Ameri- 
cans. • Lafayette answered, "We are but young 
soldiers, and we have but one sort of tactic on such 
occasions, which is to discharge our muskets and 
push on straight with our bayonets." In making his 



AGE 24.] LAFAYETTE. 71 

attack, Lafayette carried out this plan exactly ; lie 
thought that only such an impetuous assault would 
enable his inexperienced troops to overcome the 
well-trained British soldiers waiting within their 
fortifications. In a very few minutes he took the 
redoubt, and, as he still heard firing from the other, 
he sent his aide to the Baron, to inquire if he should 
give him any assistance, and to say that he had won 
his prize. Viomenil answered, "Tell the Marquis 
that I am not yet master of my redoubt, but that I 
shall be in less than five minutes." And in less than 
that time he entered it with his men, in perfect order. 
He had followed strict military rule, and had had the 
way cleared for him before his onset ; but while he 
was waiting his troops were exposed to a terrible 
fire from the enemy. Colonel Barber, the aide -who 
carried Lafayette's message, had received a wound, 
but would not allow it to be dressed until he had 
executed his commission. Perhaps he had a little 
pride in showing the French officers how indiffer- 
ent to pain an American could be. 

After the taking of these redoubts, Lord Corn- 
wallis's position became still more hopeless ; the 
cannon continued to destroy his works, he could do 
but little to injure the French and Americans, and 



72 LAFAYETTE. [l781. 

bad weather prevented an escape in boats to Glouces- 
ter, which he had planned. On the 17th he requested 
an interview with an American ofRcer, that the terms 
of surrender might be agreed upon, and on the 19th 
his army laid down their arms. 

The French and American troops were drawn up 
in long lines, and were quiet and orderly as the 
conquered army passed between them; but their 
secret triumph and rejoicing must have been great 
as they saw how full the ranks were, and felt how 
important a victory they had won. Every one was 
eager to see Lord Cornwallis, but this distinguished 
general did not make his appearance; General 
O'Hara took his place. 

Count Rochambeau, General Washington, and 
Lafayette sent their aides to offer their compliments 
to Lord Cornwallis ; Mdio sent a message to tell the 
Marquis that, after having made this long campaign 
against him, he wished to give him a private account 
of the reasons which had led him to surrender. 
The next day Lafayette went to see him. " I 
know," said the English general, " your humanity to 
prisoners, and I recommend my poor army to you." 
Lafayette replied, " You know, my lord, the Ameri- 
cans have always been humane towards imprisoned 



AGE 24.] LAFAYETTE. 73 

armies. He would not accept even a compliment 
which seemed to separate him from his adopted 
countrymen. The other generals also visited Lord 
Comwallis, and every civility which could make his 
mortifying position more endurable was shown to 
him. 

The Americans knew that they had gained a great 
advantage in taking this army ; but they were very 
desirous of closmg the campaign by the recapture 
of Charleston, South Carolina, which had been in 
the possession of the enemy since May, 1780. Gen- 
eral Greene had had a very hard summer, opposed 
to Lord Rawdon from the time that Cornwallis had 
come into Virginia. It seemed easy now to give 
him assistance, when the fleet was ready, and the 
land forces so far on their way to the south. Lafay- 
ette would again have commanded the expedition, 
and would have been glad to undertake it with a 
small army which, might easily have been transported 
in a few vessels ; but the French admiral declared 
that it was his duty to return immediately to the 
West Indies. It is said that when Lord Cornwallis 
saw Lafayette returning from his last visit to the 
admiral's ship, he said to some officers who were with 
him, " I lay a wager he has been making arrange- 



74 LAFAYETTE. [l781. 

ments to ruin us at Charleston." This remark shows 
that he understood Lafayette's disposition and talents. 
There is every reason to suppose that such a scheme 
would have succeeded. As it was not undertaken, 
the campaign came to an end, and the army went 
into winter-quarters. 

During all the time that the French and American 
armies were together, the most perfect friendliness 
prevailed between them. The French officers ad- 
mired Washington Avith the ardor that belongs to 
their nation, and only laughed at the hardships they 
had to bear. And doubtless their example influenced 
the common soldiers. On their part, all Americans 
felt themselves under great obligations to those who 
had come so far to fight for them. Lafayette men- 
tions, as a proof of good feeling, that when the 
French troops under the Marquis de Saint Simon 
joined his, he ordered them to be supplied with flour 
enough to last three days before the Americans 
received any. The latter were obliged to live chiefly 
on Lidian meal, but were quite satisfied. He also 
gave horses to the French hussars, while the Amer- 
ican officers had none, yet he never heard a com- 
plaint. Perhaps nothing shows more clearly that he 
felt as an American than his thus treating his own 



AGE 24.] LAFAYETTE. 75 

countrymen as guests. He had taken the precaution 
before they left France to have it settled that they 
were always to be considered as auxiliaries,* and 
that French officers were always to be under the 
orders of Americans of equal rank. 

In November of this year, Lafayette again asked 
leave to return to France, and, with the most cordial 
thanks from Congress, and the respect and gratitude 
of every patriot, he once more set sail from Boston. 
He carried with him the consciousness that his 
services to this country had been great and highly 
valued here. His friendship for General Washing- 
ton was one of the delights of his life, and he felt 
sure that the United States would always hold a 
place in his affections second only to France. 

No mutiny this time disturbed his voyage. He 
found all things prosperous in his family, and he 
had gained a military reputation which made him 
still more admired than before. 

He was commissioned by Congress to make 
arrangements for them in Europe, and the next year 
was chiefly occupied with preparations for a com- 
bined expedition from France and Spain, which now 

* Those who give assistance, but never take the lead. 
6 



76 Lafayette/ [1782. 

joined in the war against England. The fleet of 
sixty vessels was to be commanded by Count d'Es- 
taing; the army of twenty -four thousand men, by 
Lafayette. The plan was to sail from Cadiz for the 
island of Jamaica, then to proceed to New York, 
and after taking that city to go on to Canada. 
There were so many delays in getting together this 
grand army, and arranging all the points of the 
agreement between the nations, that Lafayette was 
still at Madrid when he heard the news of the Peace 
of Paris, which put an end to our Revolutionary 
war. It was signed in January, 1783, and he was 
the first to inform Congress of this joyful event. 



CHAPTER VII. 



FEANCE AS IT WAS. 



In the next year, 1784, Lafayette allowed himself 
the pleasure of a visit to the United States. He 
arrived at New York in August, went to the south 
as far as Yorktown and Richmond, and jDaid to Gen- 
eral Washington at Mount Vernon that visit so often 
anticipated in their letters written by camp-fires and 
amid the hardships of war. He was present at the 
making of a treaty with the Indians of the Six 
Nations, some of whose chiefs called him by his old 
name of Kayewla, which they gave him in 1778. 
He also went through the Eastern States, and was 
everywhere, as Washington wrote to Madame de La- 
fayette, " crowned with wreaths of love and respect." 

He was particularly interested in seeing the old 
soldiers of the army, and often touched by finding 
tine children of those who had fallen making part of 



78 LAFAYETTE. [l784. 

the processions in his honor. Every one was eager 
to see him, either from gratitude or curiosity, and his 
recc[)tion was cordial and affectionate. 

At th(i end of November he was again at Mount 
Vernon, and after their parting General Washington 
wrote this not(>, so expressive of his affection: "At 
the moment of our separation, upt)n the road as I 
travelled and every hour since, I have felt all that 
love, respect, and attachment for yon, with which 
length of years, close connection, and your merits 
have inspired me. I often asketl myself, as our 
carriages separated, whether that was the last sight 
I should ever have of you. And tliough I wished 
to answer no, my fears answered yes." 

Lafayette would not admit this idea; though he 
saAV that his beloved friend was never likely to cross 
the water, he promised himself the happiness of 
several visits at Mount Vernon. lie could not fore- 
see the political storms that were to sweep over his 
life, and he cared little for those he must meet on the 
Atlantic Ocean. 

After a great public entertainment at Boston, he 
embarked on board a French frigate, and had a 
prosperous voyage, bearing home with him many 
bright recollections of warm friends and happy hoiirs 



AGE 27.] LAFAYETTE. 79 

in the United States, and strong hopes for their 
future prosperity. 

He did not find France in an equally promising 
condition. 

The following year, 1785, Lafayette undertook 
a shorter journey into Austria and Russia. Though 
republicans were not much admired in those coun- 
tries, Lafayette's distinguished family connections, 
and his reputation as a young general, gained for 
him a polite reception. In Prussia, he went to all 
the military reviews in company with the king, 
Frederic the Great, at that time the most distin- 
guished soldier in all Europe. 

After his return to France, he gave much time 
and attention to a scheme in which his benevolence 
interested him. He bought a plantation at Cayenne, 
in French Guiana, and sent out an excellent superin- 
tendent, to teach the slaves and to prepare them 
gradually for freedom. He had been particularly 
pleased with a school for free-negro children, which 
he had seen at New York, and wished at least to 
try the experiment of training the blacks. Difference 
of color could not check his enthusiastic love of 
liberty. He honestly desired that all men, not 
merely himself and his countrymen, should be free ; 



80 LAFAYETTE. [l785. 

• 

but he had the common sense to see that some races 
of men require preparation even for freedom, and 
that a slave, who has all his life been fed and clothed 
by a master, does not know how to provide for him- 
self in his old age. 

We now come to a great change in Lafayette's 
life. We have seen him fighting for freedom, and 
interested in military affairs ; — the love of liberty, 
from this time forth, led him to a different work, — to 
an endeavor to reform the government of his country. 
Other men's minds were full of the same idea, and 
there was a general feeling in Paris, and throughout 
France, that the hour was come for a great change. 

It is difficult to explain to those who have lived 
only in the United States how bad the French gov- 
ernment was, and had been for several hundred 
years. But one great evil, which caused many 
others, was, that the kings and the nobles had long 
believed that government was made for their pleas- 
ure and glory, not for the happiness and welfare of 
the common people. They did not know that a few 
hundred noblemen were but of small imjDortance, 
compared with the hundreds of thousands who toiled 
for their daily bread in France ; on the contrary. 



AGE 29.] LAFAYETTE. 81 

• 

they tliouglit that the poor were created to work 
for them.' The consequence was, that acts of 
cruelty to the low-born were looked upon with per- 
fect indifference by the great lords. You must not 
suppose that there were not kind-hearted people 
among them ; then, as now, there lived in the world 
those who delighted to make all about them happy, 
including the peasants ; but, as a general rule, their 
lives were full of other occupations. Many of them 
were soldiers, and when they were not actually en- 
gaged in war made plans for new campaigns, or 
else amused themselves with hunting or other sports, 
never giving any time to thinking how the poor 
people around them lived. 

The king and the royal family, including even his 
distant cousins, must have palaces to live in; ser- 
vants, horses and carriages, and money to spend, 
provided for them out of the public wealth ; all the 
priests were to be maintained ; and in times alike of 
war and of peace, tliere was a great army to be fed 
and clothed. Thus several thousands of idle people 
were supported by the industrious ; and all these Avays 
of pouring out money consumed it much faster than 
the sale of the farmer's corn, or the weaver's cloth, 
or the vine-grower's wine, supplied it. 



82 LAFAYETTE. [l787. 

But there was no less expense at the court because 
the nation was growing poorer. The ministers had 
not the courage to tell a King of France that he 
could not have anything he desired ; and so he and 
all those who lived at court went on spending money 
for trifles, while the peasant and the shop-keeper 
were pressed harder and harder with taxes to pay 
upon everything they ate or drank, or bought or 
sold. A tax upon salt, which is so constantly in use, 
caused great distress. Any person could be licensed 
to sell salt, if he would pay a large sum to the gov- 
ernment. Of course, then, the seller asked the high- 
est possible price for it, because he wanted to secure 
his own j)rolit in addition to what he had to pay over 
to the government. Tluis hard men were more 
likely to undertake the business than any others, 
because asking such high prices made them very 
much disliked. France was divided into districts, 
in some of which the people were compelled to buy 
a certain quantity of salt every year; in others, they 
did as they chose. This made one hardship the 
more ; for a poor man who lived in one district 
might be ruined by being forced to buy a great 
quantity, while Jiis near neighbor was perhaps free 
from any restraint in tlie matter. 



AGE 29.] LAFAYETTE. 83 

And this is only a sample of the way taxes were 
paid for everything. This salt-tax — the gabelhy as 
it was called — was much talked about, and was very 
irritating to the poor people ; but the real suffering 
was owing to the great number of taxes. 

An English traveller, passing through France at 
this time, says of what he saw in one day's journey, 
"Tlie fields are scenes of pitiable management, as 
the houses are of misery;" and again, "All the 
country girls and women are without shoes or stock- 
ings, and the ploughmen at their work have neither 
sabots * nor feet to their stockings." 

And, two years later, the same traveller, in walking 
up a hill, chanced to overtake a poor woman, who 
seemed unhappy, and complained of the times. 
When he asked questions, she told him that she was 
married and had seven children ; that her husband 
had but a small bit of ground, a little horse, and a 
cow, yet they had to pay 42 pounds of wheat and 
three chickens to one great lord, and 1G8 pounds of 
oats, one chicken, and one franc to another, besides 
several very heavy taxes. She said she hoped 
something would be done for poor people, for the 

* Wooden shoes. 



84 LAFAYETTE. [l787. 

taxes were crushing them. She was twenty-six 
years old, but her figure was so bent, and her face so 
wrinkled, that she might have been taken for sixty. 
And she was only a specimen of the women that 
were to be seen almost everywhere in France. It 
was not uncommon for the poor people to gather 
nettles to make souj:) of. 

When a nobleman heard of some unfortunate 
wretch dying of hunger, no doubt he might feel 
sorry for a few minutes ; but he was not apt to think 
what could be the reason, or if he himself could do 
anything to remedy it. And here was a point in 
which Lafayette was quite different from other peo- 
ple of his own rank and age. He did think about 
the condition of working-people, and longed to 
make them happier and better ; he believed freedom 
would do that. 

Such a state of things could not last forever; 
when people are perfectly miserable, they grow 
restless and fierce. This was the case in France. 
A great many people in a middle condition of life, 
neither very rich nor very poor, were fired with ideas 
of liberty and equality ; they began to ask why dukes 
and counts were better than themselves, and why 
some lives were passed in ease and luxury, and 



AGE 29.] LAFAYETTE. 85 

others in toil and want and pain. There can be no 
doubt, too, that the accounts of the United States 
brought home by the soldiers and officers who had 
served there helped to keep up the excitement. 
It had been proved there that contentment and 
prosperity could be found without a king, without 
a court, without an order of priests, and, above all, 
without so many taxes. 

At this time (1787) Louis the Sixteenth, who was 
the king of France, was a just and humane man, who 
would have been very glad to do whatever he could 
to make his subjects happier ; but he did not know 
how or where to begin. 

One thing was certain, — that the government 
needed money; and in order to raise it, the king's 
ministers advised him to call a meeting of the No- 
tables of France. These were the princes, brothers 
or cousins of the king ; some dukes and counts, 
marshals of France, and other military officers ; 
several bishops and magistrates. They met in 
February, 1787, and began to consider what could 
be done about the national debt and taxes. A hun- 
dred and sixty years had passed since they were 
last called together, and all the old rules of business 
were forjrotten. 



86 LAFAYETTE. [l787. 

Lafayette took his place among the nobles, and 
spent much tmie upon a plan for reducing the debt 
and expenses. He also brought forward several 
proposals for limiting the king's power. One of 
these was, that he should no longer have the right 
to send a person who had displeased him to prison 
without any accusation, and without any trial or 
chance to defend himself Such a pi;isoner had no 
hope of release except from the king's mercy, and 
might die in his cell, forgotten. Another proposal 
was to grant greater liberty to Protestants, who were 
in many ways kept in a position very inferior to 
that of the Catholics. 

Findinoj that the Notables were not doinsj much 
work, Lafayette suggested that the king should be 
asked to summon a National Assembly. " What ! " 
said the Count d'Artois, the king's brother, " do you 
make a motion for the States-General ? " '' Yes, and 
even more than that," was his answer. " 



CHAPTER VIII. 

CHANGES. 

The States-General were composed of representa- 
tives from the nobles, the clergy, and the third estate, 
or common people of France. They had not met 
for a hundred and seventy-five years, and had in 
former times been most submissive to the kings ; but 
there was little hoj)e of making any change without 
them, and they only had the right to alter the gov- 
ernment. 

They met on the 4th of May, 1789, in a hall at 
Versailles which the king had prepared for them, 
and where he came with the queen to receive them. 

It is difficult to imagine now the excitement which 
there was then in Paris and throughout all the large 
towns of France. The kingdom was poorer than it 
had been the year before, — everything was dear, 
complaints were loud. Men left their offices and 



88 LAFAYETTE. [l7S9. 

their workshops to make speeches and to become 
national deputies ; * the newspapers were full of 
articles on liberty and the rights of man ; new 
pamphlets were printed every day, and eagerly read 
by a few of those who were suffering under real 
wrongs, and by all the foolish people who fancied 
they should be the happier for being as idle as the 
counts and marquises they pretended to despise. 
Every one, except the court and those who were 
satisfied with the kingdom as it was, looked forward 
with hope to the meeting of the States-General, not 
knowing what would befall them, but trusting to 
secure freedom and many other good things. Politics 
were the one thing everybody cared for, not only in 
Paris, but in all the towns of France. A stranger 
in the city writes : " I went to the Palais Royal f to 
see what new things were j^ublished. Every hour 
produces something new. Thirteen pamphlets came 
out to-day, sixteen yesterday, and ninety-two last 
week Nineteen twentieths of these produc- 
tions are in favor of liberty, and commonly violent 
against the clergy and nobility." The coffee-houses 
were always open, and orators declaimed in the most 

* Members of the States-General, or National Assembly, 
t An old palace, now used in part for shops. 



AGE 31.] LAFAYETTE. 89 

vehement manner to an excited crowd, who loudly 
applauded anything particularly fierce and harsh. 

The king and his ministers were troubled and did 
not know what to do. They felt that something 
would have to be yielded to this extraordinary 
passion for liberty which had got possession of some 
of the nobles and common people, — they did not at 
all understand the power of the mob, and they were 
obliged to admit that their schemes had not made the 
debt any less. The king's natural desire to secure 
himself led him to collect a great many soldiers in and 
about Paris, and so many more mouths to be filled in- 
creased the scarcity of flour. He thought the troops 
would be faithful to him, but experience proved that 
the new ideas of liberty and equality had made their 
way into the army. 

After much trouble in getting ready to work, 
the twelve hundred National Deputies (three hun- 
dred nobles, three hundred of the clergy, and six 
hundred of the common people) began their task ; 
which was, to give France a new government. They 
first destroyed many of the bad laws which had come 
down from old times; they took away power from 
the king and nobles, and forbade many of the privi- 
leges of the rich and great which had caused suffer- 



90 LAFAYETTE. [l7S9. 

ing among tlie poor. But this was not all. A 
kingdom cannot exist without laws; and while the 
Assembly was talking* and listening to speeches, 
jieople who had been kept down by fear of the laws 
might do a vast deal of mischief. The Deputies had 
no hesitation in saying that certain punishments 
should never be repeated in France ; but then there 
was a long pause before they could make up their 
minds what should take their place. They found 
buiMing up a slower work than pulling down. It 
was easier to make speeches, and set the nation in 
order by adding up figures and writing papers, than 
to supply food for a hungry mob, or teach the 
peasants not to revenge themselves on their former 
masters. 

The French are so easily stirred up that merely 
reading the reports of what was done each day in 
the Assembly added to the excitement of distant 
towns and villages, and it must be remembered that 
while their minds were thus filled with hopes and 
expectations, their real wants of food and clothes and 
comforts had not been relieved. Nor were they 

* A Swiss, Avlio Avent often to the Assembly, says that each 
man was vain enough to fancy himself equal to the whole labor 
of remodelling the government. 



AGE 31.] LAFAYETTE. 91 

likely to be during tliis summer (1789), for mer- 
chants and farmers no longer gave their whole 
attention to business, and the nobles began to quit 
France, taking with them the money they had been 
accustomed to spend every year. 

The natural consequences of such a condition 
were mobs and tumults in the cities, the burning of 
chateaus * and sometimes killing the lords, in the 
country. 

Lafayette took part in the labors of the Assembly 
with great spirit. He welcomed everything which 
was at all like the laws and customs of the United 
States, and his letters to General Washington were 
full of hope. He excused the outbreaks, alarming 
as they were, on account of the long suffering of the 
people. 

But a more serious one took place in Paris when 
the citizens heard that Monsieur Necker, a popular 
minister, had been dismissed, and that the troops 
were drawing nearer to Paris, and even entering the 
city. The excitement was intense for several days 
in July, and at last, after some regiments had arrived 
and others were reported, it broke out into a uni- 

* The country-houses of the nobles, which had generally been 
castles. 

7 



92 LAFAYETTE. [l789. 

versal demand for arms. The mob entered shops or 
pubhc offices where they thought any guns could be 
found, and all smiths and armorers worked day and 
night. The great bells sounded the alarm ; the 
soldiers, with strange stupidity or indifference, did 
nothing at all; and on the 14th of July an armed 
crowd of volunteers, who believed that they could no 
longer submit to authority, but that this day they 
must " do or die," accompanied by all the rabble of 
Paris, attacked an ancient prison called the Bastile. 
After a short resistance, the few soldiers who 
defended it were compelled to yield, and the com- 
mandant was killed in the street. The people 
seemed almost ready to tear down with their hands 
the solid stone walls. Furious as they were, how- 
ever, there was some cause for their rage ; for terrible 
deeds had been done in that prison. Men had been 
shut up there for half a lifetime, without even know- 
ing whether their fathers and mothers, wives and 
children, were still living, — there the innocent, upon 
whom no sentence had ever been pronounced, had 
despaired of seeing again the light of day. What 
sufferings and what deaths those walls had concealed 
could never be known ; but thinking of them might 
•yvell have maddened a calmer people than the 



AGE 31.] LAFAYETTE. 93 

Parisians ! The few prisoners found there were 
paraded through the streets on men's shoulders, and 
a sort of wild rejoicing took possession of Paris. 
In other countries, all who loved liberty could not 
help being glad that such a dungeon was destroyed, 
and the key of the great gate was sent by Lafayette 
to General Washington. 

While all this tumult was stirring Paris, the 
Assembly at Yersailles were bent on making the 
king withdraw his troops. They sent to him three 
times during the day, and continued sitting nearly all 
night. The next day he suddenly agreed to their 
request ; all was rejoicing at Versailles, and Lafay- 
ette with several other deputies was sent to Paris 
with the good news. The city, calmed from the 
frenzy of the day before, received them joyfully, and 
Lafayette was appointed, by acclamation, commander 
of the National Guard.* From this time forward, 
we find him hard at work in Paris, and seldom able 
to take liis place in the Assembly. 

He immediately published an order for pulling 
down the Bastile, and began to arrange and divide 

* He si;ggested this name for the vokmteers of Paris, — citi- 
zens who were armed and drilled, and performed some of the 
duties of police. 



94 LAFAYETTE. [l789. 

the National Guard. He was exceedingly desirous 
that they should be citizens as well as soldiers, 
obeying the laws and magistrates as well as their 
officers. Several regiments of the army insisted on 
joining it ; but Lafayette would never allow it to be 
merely a military establishment. He set them the 
example of respect for law, by insisting upon a regu- 
lar vote for his own office, several days after his 
public appointment. " Lafayette enjoyed at once 
that entire confidence and public esteem which are 
due to great qualities. The faculty of raising the 
spirits, or rather of infusing fresh courage into the 
heart, was natural to him. His appearance was 
youthful, which is always pleasing to the multitude. 
His manners were simple, popular, and engaging." 

It was not strange that obedience was rare in these 
days, for no one had any authority. The king's 
power was growing less and less ; he was obliged to 
let his soldiers join the National Guard, because they 
had already left their quarters, and were wandering 
about the streets of Paris ; the judges and other 
magistrates appointed by him were disliked and 
suspected; the assembly at Versailles had hardly 
begun to " make the Constitution ; " * and there was 

* A favorite French expression at that time ; but a constitution 



AGE 31.] LAFAYETTE. ^5 

no strong hand to govern. The people, crushed 
by long oppression, and now aroused to vengeance 
rather than improvement, were totally unfit to goy- 
ern themselves. 

The National Guard were needed in Paris to clear 
the streets, to prevent thieves from stealing by day 
as well as by night, to save unpopular persons from 
being hung upon lamp-posts, and to make the city 
safe for peaceable people. All sorts of vile wretches, 
who at common times keep out of sight in the side- 
streets and dingy shops of great cities, now came 
boldly forth, and in the name of liberty sought for 
chances to commit crimes. The crowds of idle peo- 
ple constantly drawn together by street-orators were 
easily roused, even to the point of putting to death ; 
and there seems no reason to doubt that men were 
actually hired by some of the nobles to join these 
crowds and stir them up to every kind of mischief 
and cruelty. The design was to bring the revo- 
lution into disgrace, and make it appear that liberty 
led to violence. 

This was precisely what Lafayette was resolved 
to prevent. Liberty and order were connected in his 

is not a, machine, to be made, — it must grow in part, at least, 
from the habits of a nation. 



96 LAFAYETTE. [l789. 

mind ; freedom did not mean that the wicked only 
were free to do all the evil they might feel disposed 
to, but that the good and the industrious were to 
have liberty to keep all they could earn, and to live 
as they desired. 

It is hard to imagine the restlessness and excita- 
bility of the j)eople of Paris which Lafayette was 
constantly made to feel. About this time there was 
for several weeks a great scarcity of flour, and the 
magistrates did not know how to get enough into the 
city to feed the inhabitants, and the great number of 
strangers who flocked thither. The bakers were in 
a good deal of danger, for sometimes the mob would 
fancy that they concealed great quantities of flour 
in their shops. Several notes were shown to Lafay- 
ette forbidding the millers to grind for the capital, 
and to his surprise he found his o^vn name at the 
bottom. It was of course a forgery. But Avhat 
could the poor people think, when they saw such an 
order ? One day, a little while after Lafayette had 
taken command of the National Guard, a great pub- 
lic meeting of tailors was called. He went to it, 
and made a speech which probably prevented mis- 
chief. It was afterwards found that this meeting 
wa§ called merely to delay the finishing of the uni- 



AGE 31.] LAFAYETTE. 97 

form of the Guard. They would be more easily- 
distinguished in a crowd by wearing a uniform, and 
so have more power to stop outbreaks ; and there 
were people enough in Paris ready to do anyttiing 
that would keep up disturbances. 

Lafayette led a most active life. He was con- 
stantly on horseback, riding about the city, consulting 
with the magistrates, addressing the people. One 
day it was an oration to the officers of the National 
Guard, — the next, an appeal to a dirty, disorderly 
mob to be patient, to wait for the constitution they 
were making at Versailles. He had great power 
over them ; often when they were hungry and savage, 
ready to throw stones, or even to hang a man at a 
lamp-post, a few kind words from him, or sometimes 
a little jest, would make them good-natured. The 
trouble was, that they collected in such huge groups 
that his voice could not be heard by the distant ones. 
For instance, within a week of his appointment, two 
men were hung in the street, in spite of his most 
vigorous efforts. He was so much disturbed by 
this violence that he resigned his office, but the 
entreaties of the most respectable citizens of Paris 
prevailed upon him to take it again. 

In this manner the summer was passed in Paj:is. 



98 LAFAYETTE. [l789. 

By great and steady exertion, Lafayette and the 
mayor succeeded in getting quietly through the weeks 
of greatest scarcity. The price of bread was very 
high and the loaves were very poor ; but, in spite of 
hunger and impatience, the mob did not again take 
up arms. They could not at all understand why the 
pulling down of the Bastile, and the appointment of 
the National Guard instead of soldiers, had not imme- 
diately given bread to the poor, and ease and comfort 
to every man. They wondered why the king's 
consenting to their demands, and being called the 
Restorer of French liberty, did not at once remedy 
all the mischief of bad government for hundreds of 
years. But, although puzzled, the Parisians waited 
for the constitution which was making at Versailles 
with more patience tluui the country-people did. 
Gaunt, thin, fierce-looking men attacked and burnt 
the country-houses of the great lords, whose families 
did not always escape with their lives. The peas- 
ants had suffered terribly, and it was not strange if 
they were at first more furious than the citizens of 
Paris, for they knew less of what was going on at 
Versailles, and had less to divert their minds. The 
land lay neglected and full of nettles and briers, for 
the peasants were so weak, so hungry, and so ill-paid, 



AGE 81.] LAFAYETTE. 99 

that they had no heart to work. They said that all 
their earnings went to buy salt, to support the priests 
and to pay taxes. And so, when the time came, they 
took revenge on all who had oppressed them, or who 
belonged to the higher classes. Often the innocent 
wife or child or sister of a great lord suffered with 
him, for not only his own hard acts, but for those of 
his grandfather or great-grandfather. Brigands was 
the common name for the most atrocious of these 
people; and at any time a panic could be caused in 
any city, even Paris itself, by a report that the 
brigands were coming. The news of all these dis- 
tresses came to Paris, and added to the anxiety of 
the patriots. 

The quietness of the city was no doubt partly due 
to the National Guard, who became used to acting 
together, and interested in keeping order. They 
wore a cockade of red and blue, the colors * of the 
city of Paris, to which Lafayette had added white, 
the king's color, to signify that the Guard was faithful 

* In former times a kniglit was recognized by some ornament 
on his armor, or the colors of the scarf or feathers he wore ; and 
so each great family and each city had colors of its own, which 
were shown on banners, on the coverings of horses, on the orna- 
ments of buildings, &c. 



100 LAFAYETTE. [l789. 

to the throne. " Gentlemen,^ said he to his friends 
at the Hotel de Ville,* " I bring you a cockade which 
will go round the world ! " f 

He was often pressed and urged to take command 
of the National Guard of other cities, which was 
formed on the same plan as that of Paris ; but he 
always refused, thinking that it was not sufficiently 
republican for one man to have so great power, and 
also because the task of keeping the Parisian mob 
quiet was sufficient to employ all his energy and 
zeal. He had refused the large salary which was 
ojQfered him, but he declared that he did not consider 
the refusal a matter to be proud of, and that he 
should have accepted the money if his own fortune 
had not been sufficient for his expenses. These must 
now have been great, for many Frenchmen wished 
to visit him, and strangers had great curiosity to see 
him, so that his table was often a long one. 

* The towni-liouse, or city hall. 

t It has been -worn m several countries, but not always by 
people Avhom Lafayette would have approved of. 



CHAPTER IX. 

LIBERTY IN OCTOBER. 

Early in October, 1789, another outbreak oc- 
curred. There was at this time a regiment called 
the Body-Guard on service about the king's palace, and 
the Versailles National Guard were sometimes ad- 
mitted within court limits. In addition, the king sent 
for a regiment called the Flanders. On its arrival, 
the Body-Guard gave a grand dinner of welcome. 
After dinner, the king, queen, and dauphin * visited 
the hall, and looked graciously upon their defenders. 
The poor queen, whose court was very dull, whose 
high spirit was every day wounded by the king's 
inferior position, whose hopes even for her little son 
were beginning to be dimmed, was delighted to hear 
once more a hearty cheer, " Vive le Koi ! " f Her 

* The eldest son of the king of France, 
t Long live the King ! 



102 LAFAYETTE. [l7S9. 

beauty, the sight of the court ladies attending her, 
the music they heard, and the wine they had drunk, 
all excited the Guards ; prudence was forgotten ; the 
National Assembly near them and the mobs of Paris 
were alike out of sight and out of mind ; the tricolor 
cockade was torn from their coats and trampled on 
the floor, amid shouts and cheers for the royal 
family. 

This would have passed off at common times as 
merely the enthusiasm of a military dinner ; but now 
there were spies in the court, and watchful eyes upon 
everything that was displeasing to the patriots or the 
mob. This feast was reported at Paris, and the 
people immediately said, " How is this ? We are 
starving and standing in long trains before the 
bakers' shops, while at Versailles the idle soldiers 
can give dinner-parties!" The account was exag- 
gerated, and one Monday morning, the 5th of Octo- 
ber, the insurrection of women began. Early in the 
day vast numbers of them streamed all over the 
Hotel de Ville, up-stairs and down-stairs, to find the 
Mayor. They were poor women, seamstresses, wash- 
erwomen, fish-women, coarse and rude, market- 
women, accustomed to talk loudly in their stalls. 
Some of them were bold, noisy, and furious ; others, 



AGE 32.] LAFAYETTE. 10^ 

more respectable and modest, apologized for the 
behavior of their companions ; but they all said the 
same thing. " Bread ! bread ! " was the universal 
cry, — " for ourselves and for our children ! " Some 
of them had seized rusty pikes and old guns, but 
their real power lay in their numbers ; they had been 
of course joined by a great many men, and they 
blocked up the streets and squares all about the 
Hotel de Ville. Lafayette, who arrived there early, 
was obliged to sit still on his white charger. Many 
and many a time he addressed them, but they would 
not disperse, and cries of " Let us go to Versailles " 
were mingled with the shout for bread. They must 
have been pretty good-natured, for he managed to 
keep the greater part of them standing there for 
eight hours. But at last he could no longer resist 
them, and sent to inquire at the Hotel de Ville if the 
magistrates would permit him to go. They were 
thankful to get rid of the mob upon almost any 
terms, and gave the permission. But this was a real 
proof of courage, that he dared to keep an angry 
crowd waiting while he showed this desire to obey 
the magistrates. 

He provided as quickly as possible for the protec- 
tion of the city, and set forth at the head of a strange 



10-i LAFAYETTE. [l789. 

procession of National Guards, accompanied by 
women, and unhappily by the worst and lowest vil- 
lains of Paris, the brigands. 

Messengers 'had been already sent in haste to 
give warning at Versailles, and thousands of women, 
accompanied by armed men and a few cannon, had 
set out at an earlier hour. They found Versailles 
in a state of agitation almost equal to that of Paris. 
Crowds had pressed about the building occupied by 
the Assembly from early morning ; the members had 
been disturbed ; the courtiers knew not what to do, 
as it was very doubtful if the soldiers could be 
trusted; the king, who was out hunting, had been 
hastily summoned home, but had given no orders 
after he came. 

The troops of women had crowded into the As- 
sembly's hall and eaten sausages there, all the while 
noisily applauding their favorite deputies, or bidding 
the unpopular ones hold their tongues. The presi- 
dent had tried in vain to restore order. Other 
women flattered the soldiers, and used every kind of 
persuasion to make them, as they said, friends of the 
people. Finally they sent in a committee of twelve 
to speak with the king, who was very gentle and 
courteous to them, so that they went out again quite 



AGE 32.] LAFAYETTE. 105 

content and pleased, but their companions scolded 
them for bringing no bread. 

All was confusion. There were no places for this 
vast multitude to sleep in, when night came on. It 
was almost impossible for them to get enough food, 
for they were very hungry after their long march — 
they were wet and cold and forlorn, — not in a state 
of body very favorable to good temper or good 
behavior. 

Lafayette arrived a little before midnight, and 
went first to see the President of the Assembly, 
whom he found very anxious ; then he proceeded 
to the palace, in company with two commissioners 
from Paris, who made their requests to the king. 

He agreed to all they asked, and one point was, 
that he should come and 'live in Paris. The cour- 
tiers and attendants were alarmed and restless ; the 
king seemed uncertain ; the queen alone kept a firm 
countenance, however terrified she may have been 
in her heart. Lafayette provided as well as he 
could for the defence of the palace during the night, 
but he was not allowed to place the National Guard 
in any but the outer posts. Leaving all quiet there, 
he went to find accommodations for the Guard for the 
rest of the night, and consulted with his officers in a 
room which he intended to use as head-quarters. 



106 LAFAYETTE. . [l789. 

After so long a clay of activity and anxiety, he 
was just throwing himself clown to get a little sleep, 
when an alarm came from the palace, that the brig- 
ands had broken into the queen's apartments and 
were massacring the Body-Guard! He rushed to 
the palace, and found that the mob had indeed burst 
in, but that only two of the Body-Guard had been 
killed. The queen was saved by their devotion ; — 
while fighting desperately they had cried out, Save 
the queen ! and an oflicer flew to the door of her room 
and alarmed her ladies. Hastily wrapping something 
around her, they all took refuge in the king's apart- 
ments. Lafayette by great exertions succeeded in 
clearing the palace, and saving the Body-Guard and 
other troops from the fury of the mob ; but it was 
necessary for them to put on the tricolor cockade, 
which they had thrown down a few days before. 

A scene took place which shows the nature of the 
French and of soldiers generally. The National 
Guard had come to Versailles indignant at the Body- 
Guard and their dinners ; but when this alarm was 
given, the first company that reached the spot was 
one of grenadiers who had fought in former years in 
company with the Body-Guards. All quarrels were 
forgotten; they remembered only that they were 
brothers-in-arms, and saved them. 




Lafayette and Mane Antoinette on the Balcony at Versailles. 



AGE 32.] LAFAYETTE. 107 

Lafayette now placed the National Guard every- 
where, Avith solemn charges to protect the royal 
family. He then proceeded to the balcony and ha- 
rangued the multitude who filled the court below; 
he did not hesitate to rebuke them for their violence, 
and assured them of the king's intention to come 
to Paris. The king himself appeared and confirmed 
it, and then Lafayette said to the queen, " Madame, 
what is your own intention ? " "I know the fate 
which awaits me," she answered ; " but it is my duty 
to die at the king's feet and in my children's arms." 
" Come with me, Madame," said he. " What ! alone 
on the balcony ! Have not you seen the signs they 
have made ? " " Yes, Madame, but come." She 
stepped forward with her children, but a voice cried 
^*No children!" and she gently pushed them back 
and advanced alone before the angry mob. She was 
terribly unpopular. They hated her because she 
was an Austrian, and because they thought she ad- 
vised the king against all the plans for their good. 
False stories too had been cruelly told about her, 
years before, so that she had long been an unhappy 
lady ; and now you can imagine her heart was almost 
breaking with fear and with humiliation at being in 
the power of the crowd whom she had been taught 
8 



108 LAFAYETTE. [l789. 

to despise. They could not help admirmg her as 
she stood before them, so beautiful, so brave, and so 
dignified. Lafayette could not make himself heard 
above the tumult, so he knelt down and kissed the 
queen's hand. When they saw that, they cried 
out " Vive le General ! Vive la Reine ! " * 

Then the king said to Lafayette, "And now 
what can you do for my Guards ? " " Bring one 
here," was Lafayette's answer, and, giving him his 
own tricolor cockade, he embraced him before all the 
people, who then shouted for the Body-Guard. By 
these acts Lafayette endeavored to teach them that 
their own liberty need not interfere wdth respect for 
the queen, and that they might be merciful to an 
enemy wdiom they had conquered. They knew well 
enough that he was their friend, and he w^anted them 
to see that he meant to be the queen's at the same 
time. 

The morning was spent in hasty preparation for 
the departure for Paris. Kings and queens do not 
generally move from palace to palace in such haste, 
and the ladies in waiting were too frightened to pack 
trunks. The mob emptied the magazines of Ver- 
sailles, and fancied that they should supply Paris 



* Long live the General ! Long live the Queen ! 



AGE 32.] LAFAYETTE. X09 

with the cart-loads of grain which formed a part of 
the strange procession that set out at one o'clock. 
The National Guard walked before and behind the 
royal carriage ; the National Assembly followed in 
a long line of coaches, and the mob filled up all 
spaces. Women seemed to be everywhere, and, 
though Lafayette rode by the side of the king's 
coach, he could not always prevent the queen's hear- 
ing some of the rude speeches of these dirty, coarse 
women. They were no longer furious ; the city of 
Paris had sent out after them cart-loads of loaves, 
and they connected in some unreasonable way the 
king's living in Paris with a supply of provisions. 
One of them called out, " Courage, friends ! — we are 
bringing you the baker, the baker's wife, and the 
baker's boy !" This is not the language. queens are 
used to hear, but it was much better than tlireats or 
insult. 

Moving slowly, this train arrived at Paris in the 
evening; and the royal family were first taken to the 
Hotel de Ville, where the king got out of his carriage 
and showed himself to the people, wearing the tricolor 
cockade. He desired the mayor to say that he came 
to live among his people of Paris with pleasure and 
confidence. The mayor, in repeating, forgot the word 



I in 



i.AFAYiii'rnii. 



I7HI). 



vni^fhffUit'V : llin qiKM'ii rrmiiKl.Ml liitn of* il, nnd lie. 
hulling n^nin l<> llio crowd, hi\u\, '' ( idillnnni. m 
li(Mii'iii^; il IVom IIh> ((ihmmi'm lipM. you nro iiioir loiln- 
niil(^ lliiui if I IiidI iioI niM<l(^ llio luiMlnko." /\l IukI 
(liry \viMo iiMi^ ((• iMt Id (lip itnlmr of llin 'riiil(M*i(^s, 
wliicli wic; iiul ill, nil rciuly lor IIkmii, Iml ntiy irMliiig- 

|»ltl(M^ mil i( llMVO IkMMI Wi^lrulUO llllei' Slh'li H lriiil»|i> 

iliiv Mild iit*dil. 

All (lio i-o\ id rninilv. (Iio Kiiin.'M jiiimIm /n\d Misirr 
MM \vrll Ml liiiiiMcdr. rv|»rrMsrd niiicli fnnlilndr (t» I ,m 
liivollo Tor IiIm pim'vIj'ps durinj^ IIuk Irviii}?; (inu«. 
M\rn llu^ t|intn. who di diKrd liiin, ncivMowlrdiM'd 

(lull llO lllld ,':|1\(mI (JKMr liv(>M. li WMM HO CMMV infilloi" 

ill lltPMo {\i\yf^ lo M(M\ o llio (|iMM>M : lor llio twcM'Mion lo 
liiM- \\m oxh'nordlnnrv, «md wmm noi ni nil ('ohDihmI lo 

llio j>ro|do ol" I 'iiris. 



OTIAPTEB X. 

Douirrs. 

The I'oyal family w<uv, now (o livr n,i, Ihe Tuileries 
ill !i, monotonous, loncily way. 'I'lie nobles bad been 
for many monihs leaving France to seek safety by liv- 
ing in foreign lands, and the court wan iliin and small. 
The queen occupied herself with her children, and 
wlili wi'iting letters; she had in.iny plans of escap- 
ing from Paris to join the emigrant hoMch jumI her 
own family. The king lamented the loss of his 
hunting, and amused himself as best he could. When 
they (h'ove about l*arl,s, tliey were n,lw;iy;', wll re- 
ceivciA by the people. 

For a i'aw days after tlieir sirrival, all was joy and 
rejoicing; but l)efore the end of October a baker's shop 
was broken into, and the baker killed. Tliis outrage 
Lafayette promptly punished, but it was found neces- 
sary U) jiut the city under martial law; that is, to 



112 LAFAYETTE. [l789. 

give to officers the power, if necessary, to shoot or 
hang a man without his being tried. 

At this time clubs were beginning to come into fash- 
ion in Paris. They were not hke the Enghsh ones, 
places for comfort, but for political discussion ; and 
generally the most fiery and abusive speeches were 
made at them. An immense excitement was kept 
up in this way. Tlie most famous was the Breton, 
afterwards the Jacobin club. Lafayette's friends 
tried to form a milder, more respectable one ; but it 
failed. 

There was far more trouble in the country than 
in Paris during the winter of 1789-90 ; but all the 
outbreaks were reported in the city and to the Assem- 
bly, which went on making new laws and speeches, 
all the time. People must have read nothing but 
newspapers and pamphlets in those days, to judge 
by the hundreds that were sokl ; while in certain 
places the walls of the city Avere covered with huge 
placards, fresh every day. 

As the spring opened, Lafayette sometimes re- 
sumed his place in the Assembly ; he took part in 
discussions relating to the terrible riots at Marseilles, 
and to the conduct of the Duke of Orleans, the 
king's cousin, who was an exceedingly difficult person 
to manage. 



AGE 32.] LAFAYETTE. 113 

Early in June, he brought forward a proposal that 
no person should ever command the National Guard 
of more than one department of France. This was 
agreed to and became a law, which proves Lafayette's 
forbearance, for he must have anticipated that in the 
course of a few weeks several commands would be 
offered to him. A project for the meeting of deputies 
from all the National Guards of the kingdom was 
much talked of, and the day selected for it was the 
fourteenth of July, the anniversary of the surrender 
of the Bastile. 

In June, also, a decree was passed abolishing titles 
of all sorts, the use of liveries for servants, and some 
other distinctions which had been very common 
among the nobles. Lafayette was strongly in favor 
of these changes, as he desired to see republican 
simplicity take the place of ancient forms. 

One incident of this spring shows his energy and 
popularity. A man who had stolen a bag %f oats 
was beaten to death (as Lafayette thought) by a 
mob. He was going home in his carriage when he 
heard of the affair, and instantly pressed into the 
thickest of the crowd and inquired who had killed 
him. A man being pointed out by the Guards, La- 
fayette seized him by the collar and dragged him to 



114 LAFAYETTE. [l790. 

prison, reproacliing the people for their offence. 
"When he came out of the prison, he ordered the 
Guards to move off, and again, standing quite alone, 
rebuked the mob. He told them they were the dupes 
of artful men who endeavored to stir them up, and 
who hoped by such tumults to bring disgrace on true 
liberty, and to drive the king and the Assembly from 
Paris ; but that he was resolved to maintain order. 
While he was speaking, the thief, who had appeared 
to be dead, came to lifcj and the people on the edge 
of the crowd were beginning to hang him, when 
Lafayette and the Guards rescued him. He then for 
the third time addressed the people, and ordered 
them to disperse, which they did with shouts of 
« Vive Lafayette ! " 

The 14th of July, 1790, is known under various 
names, as the celebration of the anniversary of the 
destruction of the Bastile, the Feast of Pikes, and 
the Federation of the National Guard. Guards 
came to Paris from twenty-three departments of 
France, to swear fidelity to " the Nation, the Laws, 
and the King ; to maintain the Constitution ; and to 
protect the lives and property of all." The oath was 
taken upon what was called " the Altar of our Coun- 
try," which was built in the centre of an enclosure, 



AGE 32.] LAFAYETTE. 115 

surrounded with a grassy bank, on which were seats 
for three hundred thousand spectators (it was sup- 
posed). The raising of this bank in the Champ-de- 
Mars * had been one of the extraordinary sights of 
the time. It was found that the hired laborers would 
not finish it in time, and all sorts of people had joined 
in the work ; deputies, lawyers, courtiers, priests, 
mechanics, idlers, ladies, had all filled and wheeled 
their barrow full of earth, to prepare for the great 
festival. All was ready for the 14th, and the grand 
arch of entrance, the altar, and the royal tent were 
decorated with the taste for which Parisians are 
always remarkable. The people poured out of the 
city at an early hour, and the grassy banks were 
soon turned into a circle of gay colors ; but the day 
was showery, and the bright dresses were often hid- 
den by umbrellas. 

Through the high gate came rank after rank of Na- 
tional Guards, soldiers, sailors, the mayor and magis- 
trates of Paris, the king and queen, (to whom all this 
show was but a sad sight,) and the National Assembly. 
The people cheered their favorite deputies, but La- 
fayette was now theu' idol. The king had intrusted 

* A field in the southwest part of the city, used for military 
reviews. 



116 LAFAYETTE. [l790. 

to him the giving of all orders within the enclosure, 
and he was for that day the most powerful man in 
all France, — Major-general of the whole National 
Guard, which perhaps included three millions of men. 
He had arranged a system of signals and expresses, 
by which news was to be carried all over the king- 
dom as fast as possible. He was the first person who 
mounted the steps of the altar and took the oath. 
As soon as he had finished speaking, the whole body 
of Guards cried out, " I swear ! " and, as there were 
about fourteen thousand present, the words must 
have been lost in a roar. The king and the presi- 
dent of the Assembly also took the oath, and cannon 
were fired. Through the day there were shows and 
rejoicings, and at night there were illuminations. 

On the 16th of July the representatives of the 
National Guard of several different places, then as- 
sembled in Paris, made an address to Lafayette, ex- 
pressing their regret that the law he had himself 
proposed made it impossible for them to unite under 
his command, as they would gladly have done. 

From all this rejoicing, one might imagine that 
the troubles of the nation were over, and that a time 
of ease and quiet was coming. The king seemed to 
have submitted to the people's will, and the National 



AGE 33.] LAFAYETTE. 117 

Guard might be thought a sufficient protection against 
the mob. But Lafayette could not yet relax Ms 
watchful control of the city of Paris, — a very small 
excitement still collected a crowd ready for all mis- 
chief, and he was always suspicious of the nobles' 
endeavoring to rouse the bad part of the population. 
Those who were still in France and those who had 
taken refusre in other countries all hated the revo- 
lution, and some of them were ready to do anything 
that would make it odious. 

From the country, too, still came reports of out- 
breaks ; of crowds demanding bread and vengeance ; 
of burning castles and fields uncultivated. 

But even at this time Lafayette's whole thought 
was not given to his own country ; he took a warm 
interest in a revolution in Belgium, and the liberal 
party there seem to have looked upon him as 
almost their chief. 

The winter had passed away without disturbance, 
though not without alarms, until the 28th of Feb- 
ruary, when Lafayette received information that 
there was a chance of an outbreak at the old disused 
prison of Vincennes. He left a battahon near the 
palace of the Tuileries, and set forth himself for Vin- 
cennes. He found a crowd just beginning to demolish 



118 LAFAYETTE. [l791. 

the prison, and took the ringleaders to jail, after hav- 
ing threatened to bring cannon against one of the 
gates of the city which was shut behind him. As he 
rode homo, several shots were fired at him and his 
officers, and one man tried to bring down his horse in 
order to get closer aim, but a grenadier's bayonet 
saved hin\. The report, however, was spread that 
he was killed. 

In another part of Paris, a difierent scene was 
tjilving place. An inuisual number of gentlemen had 
been all day about the palace of the Tuileries, and 
some of thoni had invited the National Guard to 
drink with them. ToAvards evening it was discovered 
that they were armed, and no one seemed to know 
exactly what they had come for. The king came out 
of his apartments to see them, and they loudly 
asserted that Lafayette had been killed. When pon- 
iards were sh<nvu, the king seemed disconcerted, and 
tlie officer in command of the National Guard stoutly 
refused to believe the death of Lafayette. He ar- 
rived in tlie midst of confusion, and, seeing a great 
basket of weapons, immediately ordered the gentle- 
men to be put out of the palace. 

This was done and quiet was restored within the 
Tuileries, but the two atfairs together had given 



AGE 33.] LAFAYETTE. 119 

Lafayette a vexatious day. He believed that the 
tumult at Vincennes had been excited by the enemies 
of the revolution, and that if he had been killed 
these knights of the poniard, as they were called, 
would have persuaded the king to go off with them. 
Lafayette could not be so much at the palace and 
so often with the king as he was now, without seeing 
that there was a great chance the king would follow 
the example of the great lords and make his escape 
from France. The queen could not be contented with 
her present mode of life ; the palace was gloomy 
and sad; her former friends and the courtiers she 
had long known had deserted her ; she did not under- 
stand these new ideas of liberty for the people ; she 
had never been taught to think of her subjects 
except to be kind and polite to those about her ; and 
she had not had pleasant lessons in freedom, seeing 
her palace surrounded by a mob ready to kill her, 
and being insulted in the streets as she sometimes 
had been. She had sense enough to see that the 
king's power would never be restored to him, that 
her son would not succeed to such a throne as her 
husband had, and in her melancholy moments she 
was afraid for all their lives. Her brother was a 
powerful emperor, — was it strange that she thought, 



120 LAFAYETTE. [l791. 

if she could but go to liim, he would give the king 
and Ills old friends an army, and they should come 
back victorious over their enemies ? Of course she 
urged the king to go while yet he was able. Lafay- 
ette and other persons were always encouraging 
him that all would end well ; and he wavered, some- 
times acting on one side, sometimes on the other. 

There was no reason to suppose that she or the 
king expected this collection of people at the palace, 
but they probably would not have come if they had 
believed the royal family were entirely content. 

After this, however, the king used, in speaking to 
Lafayette, such strong expressions of determination 
to abide by the constitution, that the latter assured 
the public, on his life, that the royal family would 
remain in Paris. 

During the spring of 1791, discussions were going 
on in the National Assembly which interested Lafay- 
ette very much. One related to the position of the 
clergy ; another to the condition of the negroes in the 
French colonies. In both cases he was of course in 
favor of the greatest liberty that could exist at the 
same time with good order. 

In April he was for the first time dissatisfied with 
the conduct of the National Guards. The king de- 




.,^'^ 



Lafayette atlempling to conduct the King and gueento St Clnad 



AGE 33.] LAFAYETTE. 121 

sired to spend a few days at Saint Cloud, a palace 
in the country, about four miles and a half southwest 
of Paris ; there he wished to pass Easter week, to 
hear mass and confess in his favorite church. As 
soon as the rumor of this got abroad, all sorts of 
stories were started ; it was said that thousands of men 
with poniards lurked in ambush in the woods, and 
would immediately overpower the National Guard 
and carry off the king. When the royal carriage 
was driven to the front of the palace, the great bell 
of the nearest church began to ring, and in a moment 
the square was crowded with people. They poured 
in, crying " The king shall not go ! we will not let the 
king go ! " Lafayette came up and addressed them, 
rode hither and thither in vain ; and when he gave 
his orders to the Guards, was not at all satisfied with 
their obedience. The king and queen took their 
places ; the coachman cracked his whip and the 
horses reared, but could do no more, for many hands 
snatched at their bridles. There the sovereigns sat 
for more than an hour, waiting, hoping that the tu- 
mult would subside, while Lafayette tried his utmost. 
At last he told the king that if his Majesty would 
order him to fire on the crowd he would open a 
passage for the coach ; but that was a thing Louis the 



122 LAFAYETTE. [l791. 

Sixtoonlh novor would do, — ^ allow a <lro|) ol* his 
Hiiltji'fls' I»I(mmI Io Im' .slird l»y his coiuiiiaiid, JIo 
said No, and willi llic ((ikm'U j^ot oiil <»l" llic cari-iajijo 
and Weill hack iiilo llu' ])aln<'('. JNcillicr of (liciii 
^'\^'\• ,sa\v Saiiil ('loud a^'aiii. 

Al'lcr (his, Laray<'ll<i |)ro|)os('d h) ihc kiiij*' io (h^- 
<'larc iVniikly Io I lie Assembly Ihal while ho pjovcrned 
as n eoiisliliilioii.il kin;;' Im' uiiisf \\:i\v lor hiiuself, as 
\v«'ll as Tor every olher person, Iho ri<;h(. Io woi'sliij) 
({(»d accordin};' to his own i'onseienco. 'The kinf^ 
seeiiK'd loiiehed l»y LaTayelle's eariieslness, hnl. said 
Ihal he would lake a day Io decide; and Ihere llie 
inalU'i' ended. 

IjMlayelle, wearied arik<' with llw plols of iho 
nobles and (he liiiiuills of Ihe mob, and olVeiided by 
tho wani of diseiplino of tiio Ciiiards, resigned liifi 
connnand. He was, however, induced by many rc- 
qni'sls IVom (he Guards themselves and IVom oilier 
exeelleni persons, Io resume his labors lor (he publie 
<Hiiel. 



CHAPTER XI. 

A LAMENTABLE FLIGHT. 

The next important event was that on the night 
of the 20th of Juno tlie king and his family escaped 
from the Tuileries. This was not discovered until 
five or six o'clock in the morning of the next day. 
As soon as Lafayette heard of it, he went imme- 
diately to the i>alace, but could get little information 
from the attendants there, and then proceeded to the 
Hotel de Ville. On his way he met crowds of people, 
who were furious against him for having allowed the 
king to escape. He was perfectly calm, and, seeing 
his tranquillity, they were a little quieted; and he 
talked with them until the Assembly, hearing of his 
danger, sent for him. The deputies asked him to 
provide an escort, that they miglit all return together ; 
and he answered " that he would provide one out of 

respect for those who had been sent to him, but for 
9 



124 LAKAYKTTE. [l791. 

liimRclfho slioiild ^o '.\\y.iviy liaving never been safer, 
for llio streets were full of |)(i()[)le." Arrived at the 
Assembly,* lie said bill (rw words lo (lid members; 
lie foiiiid (licm <|iiil<^ ready to give the necessary 
oivIcim; Ids aide-de-camp was at once sent off in 
jmrsnil of (he. king. 

Tlier(^ was much excitement in the streets of Paris 
throughout (he day. At (lie clubs the speeclies were 
furious, and Lafayette was (horoughly abused. 

The next day the Nalional (Juard asked leave to 
repeat their oalh of Hdehty before the Assembly, and 
Lai'ayelte |)i*c\sented Ihem as tried and faithful sol- 
diers and citizens. 

It was soon known that Ihe king had been stopped 
at Varennes. On the 25th of June the royal family 
re-entered Paris, more like captives than rulers. 

Their ilight bad been completely mismanaged. 
Th(>y had gone in one great party, — (he king and 
(pu'cn, (he (wo children, iho. Vrincess Elizabeth, (the 
king's sister,) and (he children's governess. They 

* Tlio kill!:!; luul \vl\ a proclamation, wliicli was l)iouf;ht to the 
Assonil)ly l>y a. M. do la rorto. llo was asUod how it caiiio to 
his liands, and answered, " Willi a note." " Wliero is tliis note? " 
fiald a member. "No, no," was called out from nil sides. "It is 
u coii(i(l(Miliiil nolo; we liavo no right to 8eo it.'* 



AGE 33.] LAFAYETTE. 125 

ought to have separated and gone in the quietest 
way ; instead of that, they Jiad a showy carriage that 
moved slowly and attracted attention, and the king 
had walked up liills to enjoy the sunshitio! 'I'lny 
were not punctual at the place where they expected 
to meet soldiers, and the gentlemen who conducted 
the business, though devoted royalists, do not seem 
to have made good couriers. Common travellers 
went faster every day. Something of the queen's 
suffering when they were stopped mny ])(-, known 
from the fact that her beautiful hair turned white in 
one night. 

Lafayette exerted himself to keep the streets quiet 
as the king passed through them, and was successful. 
There were many discontented looks, but no outcries. 

While he went to meet the carriage at the gate of 
the city, a considerable crowd collected about the pal- 
ace, and attempted to seize two of the Body-Guard, 
who had ridden outside the coach of the royal party, 
disguised as couriers. The queen, seeing him, cried 
out, eagerly, " Monsieur de Lafayette, save the Body- 
Guards ! " He secured a safe entrance for them all. 

It was his next duty, and a very painful one, to in- 
form their Majesties of the Assembly's decree that 
there should be a separate special guard for each, of 



12(1 i.Ai'Avi.irii;, [niM. 

iIkmu iiikI lor lli<> Diiupliiii. mihI IIimI nil pormMlH coil- 
(MmimmI mi iIio lliojil nlitiiilil |m> niiMii<<lini(>ly oKiuitiiKMl. 
AIno, (linl (lio MctM nl lln' AHMnnlily unuM lircniiu^ 
tii\vi4 wiilioiil llio Uin|>'M (MMiHtMil lo llinti Immii^ mhIumI. 
The Killer lirMKl till iIiIm vory (Milinly, nii*l Mini niild 
lo Lnrii^vollo: '' I (<'ll yon iVniiKlv (linl iinlil |Im> ImmI 
low tlnyM I lliMitf;lil. I \\i\h in n \vliii'l|)«»il ul iikmi oT 
your o|tliiioii, willi nlioni you Murrouu(lr«l uw, Iml 
(IimI il \\i\H iiol iIk^ opinion ol' I'^nnxM*. I luivo h<>oii 
('Iciirl^V on IIiIm journ(\y tliiii I \vmh iniMliiKon, nn<l lliiit 
il h\ (lio oonnnon iiloM." Tlir (pwMM\ filiowrd nioro 
Munoyiun'o, ImiI nDcr n lon|>, »M»n\«MHMlion willi i-Mluy- 

I'HO \\t\H IkMUmI lo MMV liuil mIiO WMM MMliMTHMl Willi liini. 

Ilo MMMurnl lliiMU lii« would Iry lo innkr llirni ronlcnl ; 
bnl \\\H ol))(M« IxMMtnin liu' nioi'tMipproMMivr to liiin llian 
it litnl <nor Iummk Ilo wm (>hlij;r<l lo pnl nior(» moI- 
(lioi'M njtonl llio 'I'uiloi io'4, MO llttil llio rovnl iMniily iMl 
pMinl\illy (liMl lltov wiMo wtil('li<><l, nllltou^h n Ittr^o 
nunihiM' oT (luMr iVicudM. uril Known rnrniiri ol' iho 
)«'\ olulion, woro (<lill Mtln\il(<Ml (o \ rii( iImmu. LMl'ny- 
ollo «>l\o (' lo uilcrprol llio AuMCinltlN 'm dornMvs in {\u\ 
mildoMl niiinniM', Itioiioli Iii> Kixmv iIi.mI .-'oino oT llto 
nuMultiM-M wiM'o not MMlisllcd Willi III I rondiu'l. 

ATliM- lliiM MlliMiipl III rMciipo. lInMo W(M0 H<M'iniiM 
diHOViMHionM in (lio Ant-KMnldy mm lo «*onl inning (ho 



AOE 88.] LAFAYKTTIC. 127 

moTiarcliy in Franrc, jiu'I if Lordf, llic Sixlcfnlli 
h1i'»(iI«I ]}i'. iiUnwc.d to rc'v/n. Sotrio [xvrKoiif. \)i'<)\)<>Hi',(\ 
U) jiiil, I lie, lldic, Djuipliin on llic. fJiron*-, jhkI Iimv. u 
n-gJUHty,* ImiI, IIk; malic-r wn,H (innlly K<',l(lr<l Ji-i LMfny- 
ciU; and Iiim fVi(!n(lH <lf'-Hir(i(l. 'I'li'y wfif, Jilrr^july 
(liHturl)«'<l ill, I Ik-, vhAcucr, of Morri*; «lf|)iilIc,H }in<l of iJx; 
cIubH, nnd (l<;, ircd lo {/Wo IIm*/ now oonKtiiuti(;n UH 
fair a (rlianoo an f»oHHif)lo nndor llio, pro,Honf, Hovcrcign, 
and willioul, suiy nior'<; ov<'tllir'ow;;. 

r>iil iIm;«o cvontH and diHouMwionH ooiild nol, (jmbh l>y 
willionl, ox(!ilinf^ Home. Iinnnll, in ■'.m«'Ii ;i city m Parin. 

Tlio Mill of didy wu,H <;<:\<'hv'.\,\<:(\ (■licfrrMlly ; \tul 
on III*', I7lli fi, dangoroiiH crowd collooUid around 
ilio nil.'ir of llic. (!li!)»ri|) dc MnrH. '' '"'.y |>n;tCTidod 
lli!i(, (licy only wi Jh<I \>('Ai(',('i'ii]\y to Hign a petition 
n,nd IImti »liH|>(',rKO/ ; l>n(, (licy linr';«'fc,d fri;niy liourM, 
nnlil i(. I»<-.c,n.nio uacdHHavy f'oi- (Ik-, rrin.yor nn<i \jni'u.y- 
otlo,, willi n, Htrofi^^ l»f)dy of I he Nnlionnl (l^^}^r(\y to 
rr\un:\t against thorn. Willi ;.onir- diHinilly n,nd Horrw, 
loHH of lil'', (he. liolcrK wct'c, [Hit down ; hnt they luid 
fortrwd wild Hciiorrw^H of attacking tho AMH(;mhly, n.ttd 
the good oiti/cnH of PariM \'cM, rrnir-h ndiovo.d wh'n 
id night ;dl onrhid within tli«; ('h<'ifri(» do MnrH, intttoiul 

^ A rcp5<!li('.y comkIkIh oConf, or uiorc pciT.oriH vvlio /i;ov<',i(i wliilo 
a kin;/ 1^ a cliiM or iiiKaiK-., — uiifil. io rule, (or any rc-aco/i. 



I2H 



i.Ai'AYiirrn;. 



ri7tM, 



ol" M|»iriuliiij_'_ lliioiij-'Ji lliCi i.IiccIm, nil wjim reined, 'I'lm 
iiiiiyoi' mimI tjiii'iiyrlU^ wrn^ Itolli imim-Ii lidiiMctl Ity 
liin clKii'McIri* ol' IIiIm oiilhrrnK. Kiirriciuli'H ^ liiid 
Ih'cii n rrlftl, jiihI llir NjiIkiiuiI (iunid were liicd oil 
liioln iVrrly lliiill CMT Itclorc, llir lir'-iiiliiti;'; of llin 
diiy Willi tdf'.o liloudy, loi' Iwo old mrn roncnilcd 
liriinilli llir tllliil' luid Im'cii l.ilird \>y llic nowd. 

Tiin HtllllllKT WniMlllirll OC('ll|)ird willlllto l'l'\iMio|l ) 
ol'llir roiii'.lillllioii, lUid Lnlnyrllr loolv iiii iiclivr |inrl 
ill llir In I dritilirt of llic NlllioiiMJ AMi'.rtiildy. 'V\u\ 
roll ililiil loll Willi M(Tr|>|rd l»v Mm Kin,"; in S(^j)- 
It'iiilxr, iiiid ill llir r.'iiin- iiioiilli llir AiiwiiiMy liroko 
lip, ll liiid doiir II. ;.'rnil work lor P'rniicr. \{ Imd 
dmlroyrd iiiimy old nlnimiH, ^ivcii ^I'nilrr iVrrdoin lo 

llin rolllliioii |iro|dr lliiill lllld Itrrll ilrrjiliird ol Itrlorr, 
IKM'ltrrd l'r|i"ioiiM lilirily, iiiid loi iiird II. IK'W Mynlriii ol' 
I'OV ri'iiiiiriil. Soiiir |tr|-;:oii:i doiiltird il it iilld Irll 
llll^ kin;', t iilViririil jiowrr lo |m' Mnylliinp, niorr llijiii ll 
iiiiinn iind M. I'liow . I>ii( Lidiiyi^llo'M rliirl' Irnr >vnM 
iW»ni lln^ viokvilCO «>l rriliiiii jmblir iiirii, wJio HOl'lunl 



♦ UlU'l'knuloi mo inmloliy plllii)'. volilclori, |iiivliifr rt|i>|iOfi, ploiM^rt 
(if loiu'iirj^ iiii\ thill}!, Iliocmwil run liiy liiiinlfi ii|hiii. When urll 
lllinlo It' In <ixroin|iii}<,ly liiinl In rliiiili hmm' tlioiii, or tu nliniit. 
|IOli|llo lioliliiil tlioiii. 

I 1!miiii1iiIii)',, lonKiiic, "^''"'' '"' ^"''^ wiml nmri thrro mo. 



AUK ni.] LAFAYKTTIC. 121) 

diHc,c)/il,(',iil,(;«l vvilli I.Im'- iH'c-cMKJuy rcnlnunla ol" (ndir 
and liivv, und who prolniMj/ <li<l jioI, (indc-rHltuMl (Ik^ 
i'oi'co of their own <tx|>r(',HHionM, or (lutir cn'ccl, on olJirr 
jM;o)»h'. Snch men li;i,d ihown, Jti llio diH(;ilHHioMH 
r<;lal/in^ lo m, icpnhhc, nllcr indiirenincc- (<> Ihr, (:on- 
dilion ;uid wfllare of (h<; Kin;';. I*'roni IhiK iitnc/ lorlh 
IjiiiiiyvMa <'.»id(';i,vor(d lo conihino wilh liiit lov<' lor 
(he, ))(;oj>lc> HiiuM-rc, <!/Iorl,H lo h;i,v<', lh«5 KIh/j^'h ))ow<.r. 

On (he, l;illi (A' S«;|)Lo»nh«',r, I 7!) I, (Jm- djiy ihc Kiny; 
ttccc-pled Mi(5 (uniHiitulJon, LaUiycll,*-, (»ro|»o;',<-.(| lli;i(, ;i,|| 
triaJH lor aclH coniicclcd with (he, Itcvolulioa Hhould 
CCaM(5. 'V\\'iH WJW jmIo|)I.c,<I ])y .'u-cliunalion \>y (lie, 
AHH(;rably, Jin<l wcl (rrc ;i,ll who wrc <',onc,c,rnc,d in 
tlio kingV llij^hl, l.o V.-ircnnc;,, ;i,ii w<-ll -'i,', iionic of Ihc 
riol/jjrH of IIm', (!li;un|» df. M;uv.. 

lOnrly in Orlohcr Liiray<'-ll,<; tool< n, nioril, nlTrclion- 
aic Jeav<'. of Ihf, N.'ilional (^inrd of \':\n'.. l\r. hiul 
alwfiyM inl,«',nd<'-d l,o tcHii^n Jiin «-onMri:in<l when llu; 
f'onHlJI.iil-ioM nlionid h«' ninde ; jukI wIh-h I,1);j,I, AHHcrriMy 
wliieli he, had he,<,ji IIh', lir.il, lo detn.ind hrol<<^ n|>, he 
jell, ihaL a very Hoienin an«l inle,re,i(|,iri;^ j>e/iod of iiin 
own lif'o and liiH (toiiniry'H ]iiHU)vy waM punL 

TIIh Jonrncy IVoni l':\.i]:', lo hi:', home, ul, ('liaVJUiiae, 
in Anv«'-re;ne, wa.H one, conlintH'd hiinn|»h. 'Ihc cily 
of Parly voMmI iiim .'i, nied.d ;i,n<l n, /n;i,r|))(5 H(n,hie, of 



130 LAFAYETTE. [l791. 

Washington. The National Guard of Paris sent him, 
after his retirement, a sword cast from one of the 
bolts of the Bastile. 

For a few months he lived very happily in the 
country, enjoying the great changes which he found 
in the condition of the peasants about him. The 
priests, however, still remained much opposed to the 
Revolution, and he says, in a letter, that " the peas- 
ants, released from trammels, paying one half less 
than they used to, hardly dare rejoice to be free, for 
fear of losing their souls." Lafayette was always 
liberal to every kind of belief and worship, but he 
desired that the clergy should not be opposed to the 
well-being of their flocks here on earth. 

Shortly after his retirement some of his friends 
made an effort to elect him Mayor of Paris ; but a 
more violent man was successful against him. He 
had not, however, a long interval in his public hfe, 
for in December the king's ministers announced that 
three armies were to be sent to the borders of 
France and Belgium. Lafayette was to command 
one of them. The king in council hesitated a little 
about appointing him ; his minister, M. de Narbonne, 
immediately answered, "If your Majesty does not 
appoint him to-day, the national wish will force you 
to, to-morrow." 



AGE 34.] LAFAYETTE. 131 

Lafayette came up to Paris ; was politely received 
by the king, and cordially welcomed by tlie Legisla- 
tive Assembly, which had succeeded to the National 
or Constituent Assembly. It was composed of new 
men, and Lafayette's friends now held the place 
which had been occupied by the court party; that 
is, they were now the people opposed to changes and 
to new things, and wishing to stand by the government 
as it was. Lafayette expressed his respect for the 
Assembly, and determination to support the constitu- 
tion. The President told him publicly that the 
nation with confidence opposed to its enemies " the 
Constitution and Lafayette." The National Guard 
lined the streets as their former chief left Paris to 
take his new command. 

War with Austria was expected and prepared for ; 
but the campaign did not immediately begin. There 
were several causes of quarrel between Austria and 
France, but they were chiefly stirred up by the 
emigrant nobles, who in their hatred of the new 
people forgot all the horrors of seeing a foreign 
army enter their own country. The king and queen 
wavered. He seems to have wished that the consti- 
tution might succeed, and to have been ready to 
make great sacrifices for his people's happiness ; but 



132 LAFAYETTE. [l791. 

he could not bring himself heartily to accept this 
new order of things ; he had no faith in it, and was 
always trying to avoid doing what the friends of the 
constitution desired. He constantly disappointed 
them, though they made great sacrifices for him. 

The queen was more decided. She corresponded 
with her own family and the emigrants ; she would 
have been thankful to have escaped long before their 
unfortunate attempt ; and, being a foreigner and hated, 
she had none of the sympathy with the French 
nation which Louis the Sixteenth often expressed. 
And yet even she objected to some of the conditions 
of bemg restored by the emigrants, and she had at 
different times a good deal of intercourse with more 
violent republicans than Lafayette. She seems to 
have fancied herself safer if she could have a secret 
friend in that party of the Assembly which seemed 
to be her bitterest enemies, and she spared no pains 
to secure one. It is said that she used bribes of 
money freely. 

Party spirit ran terribly high in the Assembly at 
this time. Violent language was heard on all sides, 
and the clubs, especially the Jacobin, seemed almost 
as powerful in Paris as the Assembly itself. It was 
an immense association, for it had a society connected 



AGE 34.] LAFAYETTE. 133 

with it in every town in the kingdom. And from 
being the name of a club, it became the title of the 
most violent and bloodthirsty poUtical party ever 
known in France, or it might be said in the civilized 
world. 

The ministers, too, quarrelled with each other, so 
that there was no peace or order anywhere. 

When Lafayette arrived at Metz, his head-quar- 
ters, he devoted himself to improving the condition 
of his army. It had been expected that, being a 
republican, and in favor of equality, he would be 
more indulgent than the former generals ; but it did 
not prove so; — his desire was to make the army 
efficient, and strict discipline alone would do that. 
He made it understood that every kind of luxury 
and idleness was a sign of aristocracy, and that the 
republican officer or soldier would be severe in dis- 
cipline and simple in habits. 

He was particularly interested in introducing 
horse-artillery, which he had seen in Prussia, and 
which has since become famous. 



CiiAr'ri: i: \ 1 1. 

'rifOimi/M AT IIOMK AND AnROAD. 

Tn r(>iiH«'{(ii('ii<'(r of Mm vmljtiiM dlHiigroomentH 
itlrcuily iiiciilioiiiMl, iIh; IIu'cu ^cnui'alM, l^niiiyiMlo, 
JjiU'kiH-r, !iii<l luicliiitiilx'nii,^ wcn^ HUiiiinoiicd lo 
.l*nriH, iiikI (hliiiiird (licrr lor Hoirui (iiini. Il wmh linnlly 
ji|i;r<'«'(l lliiil Laliiycllr hlioiiM Imi IIki oih* I<> I'lihu' 
I^^l;j,iiiiii, nixl lliai the mini: (< r ol war hIioiiM iirv<'r 
<'luill^,«^ llir |H»;;ili(»M;i ^A' llic llll<r iinilicM willuUlt 

pivin^ all I luce, iTiicralM r^iiMicinil, liiiio lo uirango 
llirii' iiio\ <-iii<-iil.i on llic ;aMi<' |)latt. 

War vva;i ronnally drclarcd in April, an<l \vhil(5 
tho gninals wrn- rnj-a^'cd in I lie iinparalioiiH lUicoH- 
Hary lor rnl< rin;/ (lie Low ( 'onnlii<M, (liry w«t<' Hlar- 
llcd l»v a. new plan Hudd<!nly H(Mil lo llnin IVoin 
l*aris. Arrordin;- lo llii.i, lialiiycllr was lo niov(^ 
willi his whole army from IM«I/, lo (iivot, iH'ar 



* 1 li> ^M ur.iiil til' lilt) I't'ciiuU ti'uupa lit Auiurluu lii 17til. 



AGE 34.] LAFAYETTE. 135 

Charlemont, a distance of fifty-six: leagues* In fiv<j 
days. Tlio weather was excessively hoi, Uut troops 
suffered mucli from their rapid marcli, and the 
officers liad liar<l woilc to collect the great number 
of liorses necessary to transport the heavy cannon 
and the baggage of a krgc army. But it was done, 
and Lafayette's enemies in the Assembly, who had 
hoped that a failure would destroy his pojjularity, 
were for the present disappointed. 

lie was of course becoming unpopular now witli 
the violent party, on account of his devotion to tlic 
king, just as in 1787 he had been looked upon with 
horror by the royalists f for his love of liberty. 

The other parts of the naw plan failed, but even 
this slight beginning of active operations showed 
that the ajijiy could not be trusted. Some officers 
deserted in the night, — others tlirew the troops into 
confusion on the field of Ijattle. 

After these proceedings Count Rochambeau in- 
sisted on resigning. Marslial Luckner and Lafay- 
ette, therefore, remained in command. During an 
attack on F hinders by sea, Lafayette agreed to 
occupy an intrenched camp at Maubeuge, with eight- 

* A French league is about two and a half English mile«. 
t The king'8 party. 



13G LAFAYETTE. [l792. 

een thousand men. A few days after he removed 
thither, some little skirmishing engagements with the 
enemy took place, in which Lafayette's young troops 
showed their excellent discipline, and prepared them- 
selves for future distinction. 

But his great interest even at camp seems to have 
been the state of Paris and the Assembly, or rather 
the Jacobinism which was spreading over the whole 
country. From every quarter complaints were 
brought to him of the constantly increasing power 
and violence of this party. He felt their influence 
keenly in the difficulties which were every day thrown 
in his way in relation to providing for the army. 

After much thought on the subject, he decided on 
writing a letter to the Assembly, in which he spoke 
of the Jacobin faction by name, as the enemies and 
destroyers of real liberty. He dwelt on the dangers 
of France, at this moment threatened by enemies 
without, and agitated within, and he exhorted the 
Deputies to be at once constitutional and just. He 
appealed to the services of his own past life as proof 
of his sincere devotion to the people, praised the 
patriotism and courage of his army, and urged loy- 
alty to the king and constitution, and the putting 
down of clubs. He also explained the difficulties he 



AGE 34.] LAFAYETTE. 137 

had had with the ministers, so that this letter must 
have raised up for him many open enemies where 
before he had secret ones. 

It cannot be said to have produced much effect on 
the Assembly. Seventy-five departments * of France 
announced their agreement with its principles, but 
the moderate men had hardly been at all strength- 
ened by it when the horrors of the 20th of June 
filled all minds with consternation. 

On this day an attack was made by the mob on 
the palace of the Tuileries. For several hours a 
great multitude marched through the apartments. 
They insulted the king and queen, but did not kill 
them, and at last withdrew in obedience to the mayor, 
Petion. Both he and the Assembly behaved very 
ill; they would not beheve that the king was in 
danger, or take anv measures for his defence. The 
crowd were armed with axes, pikes, knives, or any- 
thing they could lay hands on; they also carried 
on high poles various inscriptions, such as " Death to 
tyrants ! " and symbols, such as a little guillotine, &c. 

The king and queen had been separated. A few 
attendants and some grenadiers were with difficulty 

* Districts. 



l.'itt LAI-AVI/ITK. [ 1 71)2. 

collcrlcd iiIkhiI, IIic kin;:;; l\\ry <li('w liim :i Iilll(5 bmik 
into n, recessed window, niid |)iil, n, lulde liefoie liiiii. 
And in lliis wuy he Hlood lor lioni'.s wiilcdtilif^ liJH 
|)e(»|)le :iM lliey [cissed |Im'om;';Ii lliei'ooni. IMen iiiul 
Avonien, MliU<'. coMt'se. :ind i'oii;i,li, M|)olve lo iiini IVoiii 
litne lo lime, <-orn|»elled liini lo wear llie, fed (;aj>, 
e.'dh-d llie e.ip of lilterly, or ehiinied liis roiiMciil. to 
<'<'rlnin puliiii' nie.'isnreM. '' 'riiis is nol. Ilie lime nor 
llie ninimer l(» :isk me," r.'iid llie l^in<>, lirndy. LouIh 
llie Sixleeiilii did not Ln(»w how lo be |io|mlur, could 
nol win Ihe n:ilion |)\' |»rilli:inl nelM <>ilher in |)olili(!8 
or w:ir; Iml he h:id <'onrit;.';e, mid eonid eixhire. ( )n 
litis (hiy u ,'<ddier sl:indin;j:; near him i.-iid something 
of llie niarm he mnsi he in. " No," snid Ihe hiiljjj, 
'' I am in no terror; I ha\e meant well; I ha\(' no 
Tear. (Jive me \onr hand. I lere," unid he, |uillin;^ 
lh<^ Mohlier's hand n|ion his hearl. '' Hoes \\. heal, as if 
I were afraid ? " ll seems lh:il, he li.id e\|>eeled lliis 
onlhreak,and was (|nil<> |>re|iared lo lose Ills life in il. 
l*\>r Me\eral <lavs hi.s Ihoii^^dils had been linned lo 
hea\ en rallier than <arlh. 

'r\w <ineen was in an a;';ony nl heiii^ HcjuirMled 
I'rom him, and oidy (he enlrealies of her allendanls, 
\vh() assure<l her Ihe kind's daii^'er woid<l he iii- 
croilHt'd hv h<'r a|)|)tMiniiK'(', kepI h<'r in her privulo 



AGE 84.] LAFAYETTJS. 189 

apartmcntfi ; slic waR ol)lInjo(l to Imatcn from room to 
room as the crowd brokci down dooi'H. 'VUo court 
ladies and /^cullcmcn willi her were of courno unfit 
to rosist a furiouH armed mob. Slie wan not called 
for until Homo grenadiers had Ixm-u got into tiio palace, 
who were ranged on each Hid(5 of her, while a largo 
council-table formed a sort of barricade betwecm her 
and (lie, n(!ver-('iiding multitude who swept through 
the rooiriM slie ini;j;lit oiKtc li;i,v(! (;allcd hors. Pro- 
tected by the faithfid troops, .slie, listened for liourfl 
to the horrid eries of tli(^ r:i,bl)h', .-iiid, h()wev<!r dis- 
tressed at heart, it is said that iier face never showed 
disturbance. Her manner was gentle and courteous 
to all who spoke to her. Slie was obliged to bear 
the ignominy (to her) of putting the red cap on her 
own head, and then on I he Daupiiin's. I*oor cliil- 
dren ! Imagine how frigiitened lie and iiis sister 
must have be<;n ! 

The princ(5ss Elizabeth behaved nobly on this day. 
Early in the afl'air, she was trying to join her brother, 
when the crowd comp(;lled her lik(;wise to move into 
a recessed window. Mistaking her for the queen, 
they abuH(!d Ikt in tlie most shocking manner. 
Those about h(;r wen; just on the point of exclaiming 
that she was not the queen, when the princess said, 

10 



140 LAFAYETTE. [l792. 

" No, no, don't tell them my name ; let them take me 
for the queen." No doubt she was ready to be 
killed li(!rs('lf in onh'r lo save her sister's life. 

This outbreak was ])repared by the Jacobins, who 
made no secret of their intention to excite it. 

Lafayette understood this the moment he received 
the news. His grief and horror were great, for he 
was shocked on every point. That a mob should 
appear armed before the Assembly, was an insult to 
the liberty he cherished ; that such a mob should 
dare to enter the palace, showed the weakness of the 
National Guard ; and that the Assembly should make 
no effort to protect the prince, who was, in name at 
least, the head of Ihe nation, showed a want of agree- 
ment between the two chief powers of the consti- 
tution. 

lie took a resolve — somewhat hopeless, indeed — 
to go to Paris, address the Assembly, and see what 
could be done, — if he could yet collect around him a 
band of true patriots strong enough to oppose the 
Jacobins. 

lie reached Paris on the 28lh, and immediately 
said to the Assembly that he had come to declare 
himself the author of the letter of the 1 Gth of June, 
which some persons had said was a forgery ; to ex- 



AGE 34.] LAFAYETTE. 141 

press the surprise and regret of the army at the 
events of the 20th, and to entreat that the Assembly 
would order the punishment of all who stirred up 
such an outbreak, — would resist the tyranny of a 
party, and cause constitutional powers to l)c every- 
where respected. 

His words produced little effect ; it was clear to 
him, in the course of a day or two, that the Assembly 
dared not oppose the Jacobins. He visited the royal 
family, who received him politely, and with thanks, 
but told him none of their plans.* He made vain 
attempts to collect the National Guard and address 
them ; but only a few came to the appointed place, 
and a review which he had intended to attend was 
put off by the mayor. 

Not exactly disappointed, because he had hoped 
so little, but very desponding as to the prospects of 
his country, Lafayette returned to camp. His pop- 
ularity in Paris was evidently gone ; but he thought 
more of the king and the Assembly than of himself. 

* The Princess Elizabeth said it was time to forget the past, 
and throw themselves with confidence into the arms of the only- 
man who could save the king and his family. But the queen 
said, " It would be better to i)erish than to be saved by Lafayette 
and the Constitutionals! " 



142 LAFAYETTE. [l792. 

It was hard to have his bright hopes of liberty dashed 
just at the moment when tliey seemed to be fulfilled. 
lie saw that the power of the Jaeobin elub was just 
as mu<;h a tyranny as that of any king or emperor. 
And he was convinced, by the way in which he was 
treated as he passed through the country, that the 
greater part of the nation sympathized with him, and 
not with the Jacobins. 

At camp Lafayette was again troubled by obstacles 
thrown in his way on ])iirp<)S('. No interesting mili- 
tary movements occupied his time and tlioughts. He 
received orders from Paris to change his department, 
— that is, the region he had to defend, in a case of 
fighting, — and was then abused at the clubs for 
doing so ! 

In marching the necessary distance, Lafjxyette's 
army passed near Compiegne, a royal seat, and the 
idea occurred (<> liiiii llint the king, attended by him, 
might go to the Assembly and announce his intention 
of passing a few days at Compiegne ; and that, once 
arrived there and surrounded by certain faithful 
soldiers whom Lafayette would answer for, he should 
send out a proclamation forbidding the emigrants to 
advance into France, declaring himself decidedly for 
the constitution, and ready to lead the army against 



AGE 34.] LAFAYETTE. 143 

Austrians and Prussians. Such a declaration would 
have Htrengthened the Constitutionals, would have 
given the king a party he could depend upon, and 
would have silenced the Jacobins, who always de- 
clared that the royal family urged the coming of a 
foreign army. 

But Louis the Sixteenth and his advisers could 
not consent to any measure so contrary to their old 
habits and inclinations. Lafayette was thanked 
and refused.* 

Fresh dilficulties were created between the Gen- 
erals Luckner and Lafayette during a visit of the 
former to Paris. It was said in the Assembly that 
Lafayette had proposed to him to march upon Paris. 
Their letters were read, and fully proved that the 
only proposals which had passed between them were 
for attacks on the enemy. But the matter went so 
far that Lafayette's enemies ventured to propose an 
accusation.. This, however, was voted down. 

The lOtli of August, 1792, was memorable for a 
still more alarming attack on the Tuileries. Twenty 
thousand armed men, followed by the mob and brig- 

* Tho queen Is reported to have said, alluding to the Ctli of 
October, 1780, "It would be too much to owe our Uvea to him 
twice! " 



144 LAFAYETTE. [l792. 

ands, approached the palace, which was too large to 
be defended except by regular soldiers, well com- 
manded. The king had about nine hundred Swiss, 
a few of the National Guard, and some brave gentle- 
men, Avho, knowing his danger, had come rather to 
die with him than to save him. The artillery-men 
refused to obey orders. 

Defence was so hopeless that the royal family were 
persuaded to go over to the Assembly. This step 
probably saved their own lives, but the faithful Swiss 
whom they left behind were terribly massacred. 
Either the king forgot to give the order he intended 
forbidding them to fire, or it was not delivered by 
the person to whom he gave it. It is not known 
on which side the firing began, but they could 
of course do nothing against such numbers. The 
king and queen were distressed when they heard 
the noise of arms, and a brave gentleman oflfered 
to carry another order back to the palace. He 
did so, and a few were saved. The Swiss officers 
and all the attendants of the royal family had 
terrible risks to run, and it seems almost a miracle 
that any of them could escape with their lives. 

Though the king and queen were not killed on 
this horrible day, they were ever after prisoners, 



AGE 34.] LAFAYETTE. 145 

and were both executed by order of the National 
Convention, which took the place of the Assembly. 

Lafayette first heard the account of this terrible 
10 th of August from one of the National Guard 
escaped from the massacre, and from an officer who 
had been at the Tuileries. Finding that all was 
violence and tyranny at Paris, that the king was a 
prisoner, and the Assembly no longer really free, 
Lafayette declared that he put his army and him- 
self under the orders of the magistrates of Ardennes, 
the department in which he then was, as they were 
the only authorities chosen by the people who were 
left for him to obey. He told the army what he had 
done, and was rejoiced ' to find that both officers 
and soldiers remained truly patriotic. Some of the 
neighboring departments joined Ardennes in its res- 
olutions, and Lafayette did not despair of others 
taking the same stand. In the mean time he refused 
obedience to the orders which were sent to him from 
Paris. 

Immediately after the 10th of August, the enemy, 
under the command of the Duke of Brunswick, 
entered France, bat not in the neighborhood of La- 
fayette. He had to guard the frontier, but was not 
concerned in any engagement. . 



146 LAFAYETTE. [1792. 

The Assembly continued to pass decrees entirely 
contrary to Lafayette's principles of liberty, and sent 
numerous commissioners to his camp to try to shake 
the fidelity of his soldiers. No towns, no magistrates 
showed themselves on his side; he found that by 
persisting in his resistance he should expose his 
troops to two dangers, — one from the enemy, the 
other from their own countiymen. On the 19th of 
August, he sorrowfully decided that he was no longer 
of use, was exposing himself and his friends to dan- 
ger, and must for the present seek shelter in some 
neutral country.* 

* A couuti'y taking jio part iu a war. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



EXILE. 



It was not easy to find a neutral country which 
he could reach, and he decided to pass through Hol- 
land on the way to England. If he could hope to 
return to France soon, he would remain in England, 
where he desired his family to join him ; but if his 
own country were not free, he resolved to make his 
home in the United States. After having written 
this to his wife, he added, " I make no apology to 
you or my children for having ruined my family; 
no one among you would wish to owe fortune to con- 
duct contrary to my conscience." 

After taking every possible precaution for the 
safety of his army, Lafayette set out on the 19th of 
August, as if he were merely reconnoitring, with his 
usual escort and some officers who had served with 
him in the National Guard of Paris. Two of his 



14:8 LAFAYETTE. [l792. 

friends, Messieurs Latour-Maubourg and Bureaux 
de Pusy, also accompanied liim, and a third, M. 
Alexandre Lametli, met them on the road. He had 
intended to go to Lafayette's camp, but, hearing of his 
journey, determined to accompany him. When they 
reached Bouillon, on the borders of France, Lafay- 
ette sent back his escort, and all the officers dismissed 
their orderlies,* because they would not deprive 
their country of even one defender. 

The little party of twenty-three exiles — for such 
they really were — had only reached Rochefort, 
seven leagues from Bouillon, when they were stopped 
by finding Austrian soldiers there. They had of 
course kept clear of the enemy's camp, but this was 
a sort of outpost which they had not been quite sure 
of. They applied to the commandant for permission 
to proceed the next day, representing that they no 
longer held rank in the French army, and therefore 
were not to be treated as military officers, but as 
private gentlemen. 

The commandant agreed very readily, but insisted 
that they should provide themselves with a passport f 

* A military officer of low rank, who waits upon a superior, 
t A permission from government to go from one country to 
unotlicr. In time of war it is often given by a general. 



AGE 35.] LAFAYETTE. 149 

from General Moitelle, commanding at Namiir. This 
general, when he saw the letter announcing Lafay- 
ette's arrival, instead of saying anything about pass- 
ports, fell into transports of joy, and cried out, " La- 
fayette ! Lafayette ! Run instantly to tell the Duke 
of Bourbon ! Lafayette ! Take post to carry this 
news to his Royal Highness at Brussels ! " Instead 
of passports, an order was despatched for forwarding 
the prisoners immediately to Namur. They hoped 
they should not be long detained, but were soon re- 
moved to Nivelle, where a division was made. Those 
who had not served in the National Guard were 
released; the other officers were sent to Antwerp, 
where they had to spend two months ; the four Dep- 
uties, to the National Assembly, Lafayette, * Latour- 
Maubourg, Bureaux de Pusy, and Lameth, were 
sent to Luxembourg, where they were separated, and 
after a week's delay, escorted to "Wezel by a Prus- 
sian guard. There they spent three months in 
prison, parted from each other, deprived of all news 
and of tlie means of writing. They were never 

* While they were at Nivelle, an order came to take away from 
Lafayette the treasure which he was supposed to have brought 
from camp ! He observed, coldly, that " doubtless the princes 
would agree that in his place they would have done that." 



150 LAFAYETTE. [l792. 

nll()\V(Ml l<> */o oil! ; (lie <l(»iil>l«i <l<)orM of \]\o prison 
wcrr l»ol(r<| :iM(l icidlockcd. Siicli n. im<m|«i of lilr wuh 
onoii^li (<» ruin nwy one's hcnllli. LMlii/fclld In'oiimc 
very ill, imd wlwu JMjml>oiir;j; asked |>cnnissioii lo 
M<'<^ liitii, wlicii he should Ix' iirjir dtalli, lie was (ohi, 
"• Thai »'ould iiol be." Lalaycllo rccoN ci-cd, and (Jur 
Kiuii; of Tiiissia ha<l liu^ basciu^HS lo iiivilt; him, in 
order lo iMi|»r(>vo his condition, lo ^'wo sonu> advicis 
or infornialiou a;^ainsl. I*' ranee. " 'Plu^ kinj; ol* 
PniHHia is cxccedinj^Iy iMi|»erlineul," said Ijuliiyette, 
when this jtaper was read lo hiui. 

S|)endin<^ days in I his uller solilude and idleness, 
how \aried and how anxious Laliivelle's (honj^hlM 
nuist ha\() been ! l\eeolleelions of home, of tlut 
llniled Slales and (he I'ret^ ha|>|)> liiejie led Iherc, 
nuisl ha\(' blended wilh Ihe ideas ol" I7S'.), his bri;^ht 
ho|>es ironi lla^ «loin<;M ol" llu^ National Ass(Mnbly,— 
IIku Ihe Mconos in J'aris an«l al N'ersailios, (ho wonien 
in insinriM'Tmn, Ihe <ineen's eoin'a^'e, Ihe visils al llu^ 
Tnileries, Ihe tlillieidly (.>f eonvincin;^ Ihe kin;.<, lh(> 
de\()lion ol" (hi> Nalional (Juard, llu* oulbreaks ho 
ha«l suppressed, Ihe «;ralilu(h^ ol" llu> eili/,(M>s, |ho 
obstinacy of Ihe conrliers, — all IIm^ evenis of his life 
U)r tlu^ last four }ears must havt> made plclnrcs in 
his mind, us ho Avidkcd to and IVo in hia solitary cell. 



AOE 85.] LAFAYETTE. 1.51 

And rnnny n sound niiisl- Imvo ro-ochoed on his ear, 
from {\u\ slioiils of llic. mob (o (Im; specchcrt of Dopii- 
tics, or the (jucen's linn, clear tones. But (lie ov(;i-- 
powering feeling wjim juixidy: (Irsl, Cor llie rale, ol" 
his family and friendn, — liow Car liis unpopulurily 
might Jiave affected lluun ; next (or (Ik; kiuj^-, a 
prisoner as he kiw^w ; aud llicii Ini- liis ludiappy 
country, with enemies coming upon iier iioni vvilliout, 
and the »7acobins riding witliin. The nrin of those 
hnv days after the lOlh of August had shown him 
that a, terrible tim<i was coming; but how (crrible 
neither lie noi- any one else coidd imagine. 

Fj-om VVesel th(;y w<'re I'emovcui to Magdeburg, on 
tho Klb(^, Irom wIk iicc, Larayotlc managed (o write 
again. IIo darccl not st'iid Ictlcrs (o his AviCe iu 
Franco, because his handwriting might be recog- 
nized, and (hen Ihc, letter would suroly ])(', Hto|)p(>,d; 
but he addressed them to a Crlcnd in liondon, hooiu''- 
that his family might hav(! made (heir cscajx; (o 
England. He giv<!S th(i following account of his 
situation: " Jmaginf; an opening made und(!r (he ram- 
part* of the citadel,t and surroundcid wi(h a strong, 
high palisade;! through tliis, after op(;ning four 

* A strong outer wall. j 'I'ho cculro of a ibrtrosH. 

t A fcuco made of posts sot into tho grouiul. 



152 LAFAYETTE. [l793. 

doors, each armed witli chains, bars, and padlocks, 
they come, not without some difficulty and noise, to 
my cell, three jDaces wide, five and a half* long. The 
wall is mouldy on the side towards the ditch, and the 
front one admits light, but not sunshine, through a 
little grated window. Add to this two sentinels, — 
whose eyes penetrate into this lower region, but who 
are kept outside the palisade, lest they should speak, 
other watchers not belonging to the guard, and all 
the walls, ramparts, ditches, guards, within and with- 
out the citadel of Magdeburg, and you will think that 
the foreign powers neglect nothing to keep us within 
their dominions. The noisy opening of the four 
doors is repeated every morning to admit my ser- 
vant ; at dinner, that I may eat in presence of the 
commandant of the citadel and of the guard ; and at 
night, to take my servant to his prison. After having 
shut upon me all the doors, the commandant carries 
off the keys to the room where, since our arrival, the 
king has ordered him to sleep. 

"I have books, the white leaves of which are 
taken out, but no news, no newspapers, no communi- 
cations, — neither pen, ink, paper, nor pencil. It is a 
wonder that I possess this sheet, and I am writing 
with a toothpick. My health fails daily 



AGE 35.] LAFAYETTE. 153 

The account I have given you may serve for my 
companions, whose treatment is the same." 

In spite of every precaution of government, news 
came to the prisoners through the jailers or the 
soldiers. They heard of the success of the French 
army against the enemy, of the execution of the 
king, and of the shocking murders under the name 
of law of many of their friends and innocent per- 
sons. From their own families they could hear 
nothing. Their anxiety must have been cruel, but 
Lafayette never seems to have lost hope. He took 
excellent care of his health, and there is no complaint 
in any one of his letters. He had two comforts in 
his captivity; one was, the devotion of his young 
secretary, Felix, and the other, some money sent for 
him to Magdebourg by his American friends, that he 
might be able to buy anything which the officers 
would permit him to have. 

In the spring of 1793, the prisoners were allowed 
to walk for an hour every day in a little garden in 
one corner of a fortification. Each one was taken out 
separately, and an officer was with him all the time. 

Lafayette also had the great happiness of receiving 
some letters from his family and friends ; he was not 
permitted to keep them, but read them once. His 



154 LAFAYETTE. [l793. 

answers were always read by tlic officer in command, 
and he was obliged to write with the utmost pru- 
dence, or else compelled to rewrite two or three 
times, if he said anything displeasing to Prussian 
notions. 

In October he writes thus to his wife : " You 
know that for an hour every day I am taken out of 
my hole to get a mouthful of fresh air ; I have books, 
and, though the unlucky power of reading fast has 
become a trouble to me, I have found in English, 
French, and Latin, the means of conversing with the 
dead, since I am shut off from the living. I can 
now even see the Leyden Gazette." 

His friends were not idle during these long months 
of imprisonment. His former aides, now in London, 
and other friends were making efforts to induce the 
king of Prussia to set him free, and forming plans 
for his escape ; but both were matters of great diffi- 
culty, and not to be thoughtlessly undertaken. 

In January, 1794, he was much troubled by a new 
separation from liis friends. He was sent to Neisse, 
on the borders of Silesin, and Maubourg to Glatz, 
not very far distant, while Lameth and Pusy re- 
mained at Magdebourg. It added greatly to his 
anxiety to be sent a hundred and fifty leagues farther 



AGE 36.] LAFAYETTE. 155 

from France ; but immediulely on arriving he ob- 
tained leave to write to his friends, and assured tiieni 
that they need feel no additional anxiety on account 
of the change, as his treatment was almost exactly 
the same. 

In Marcli lie wrote to liis friend Manboui'g, at 
Glatz : "So your sister* is established in the vaults 
of Glatz. I have not been favored in my dungeons 
witli any aj)parition, but I imagine that consoling 
angels must have faces Jlkci jK-rs." Maubourg and 
Pusy rf^oined liim at Neisse, and lor a liLthi while 
they were allowed to see each other and Madame de 
Maison-Ncuve. 

In May all three wenj transferred to Olmutz, in 
Austria, where lliey were again separated. Each 
one was told, on entering his cell, that " he would for 
the future see only his four walls, that he would 
never hear any news from any person, that even the 
jailers were forbidden to pronounce his name, and in 
the despatches sent to court he would ha mentioned 
only by his number; that he would never know 
anything about the existence of his family or of his 
two companions, and lliat, as such a condition led 
them to think of killing themselves, knives, forks, 

* Madame de j\Iaison-Neuvc. 
11 



\l,i\ 



\,M \ vn'/nic. 



I7IH. 



tiiiil oIImt iii'llcic;!, wcrn (oihiddcli. Tliry were ulito 
l|i'|)l i\ <'<| ul' lUiilir lliill<'it llin rniiMiillKl lllid Iri'i lliciil, 
\l/., (Iiric \\ llh'llcM, (lirir l.lirn IIImI I'IocK luick Icm, jiimI 
rtotiin IxMtlui ill wliirii llir word liltrily \V(IM loliiid. 

hMrii_V<'ll<^ )i;.Miili Ihtmiiu^ ill, iiiid (lie idiyMiciiiii 
rnprnMciih'd lliiil ill!' Willi iM'i'i'HMiiry lot Imn. 'I'ln'cn 
liiiK'M llin MiinwiM- Willi mil, llnil " lir wii < iiol, yi^i. ill 

«lloli;'ll," Im'ToIT Im- Wllfi llllowrd lo Wlllk. 

I'liiii |M'nniMMioii riicoiirniM'd luo riicndit oj' liid |o 
iilli'iii|il lo rnii-iir liiiii. 

'I'Immo iVinidM wrrr \h. Hojlni'iu, n, pliyHirinii ol' 

IImiio\<'|, W Iio riili'ird illlo llin r.fliniii' rinili |)lirr 

riilliiihiiii III lor Lnl'iiyi'lln'M rlinnirlcr, mid hud iirvcr 
MOrii liiiii iinlil lit' ('.'iliir lo ()|iiiiil/. lo iin'Mllfrn |iImiim. 
'riio oilier WMH M. yoiiiifi AiiKM'icnii, iM i. Iliiyrr of 
StMilli ('Mrolinn, moii of |lii< ollicn- nl wliono hoiiio 
•' llin IMiin|liiM " liilidrd ill I V'/M. 

On llio Mill ul' No\riiilM'r, l/ll^ll^<>llo dro\r oiil. 
ill <'oiii|iiiiiv willi llie jiiiliT. Ilr ••o| lid of llio 
NdldiiM'M ol' lii I riroi'l liy |'i\iii;', lliciii ii roiiiiniMMioii 
Mild Homo moiioy, i«o lliiil llioy wrnl |<i diiiilv nl ii. 
nrifjiilioriiip; wiiii^-Mlio|>, 'I'lim ll(^ Irl'l Iho nirriiiKis 
mid wliilo wiillviii(> willi llio jiiiirr m .Krd him lo inl. 
him cMimiiio liin rwilin', mid iillom|)lrd lo itci/o it. 
Wllllo (hey weir ul i iip;f.dili},'. Io'tIIh r, ImiIIiiuiii mid 
llllti;<^r, who lind WMlihcd lor (lii.i niomnil, n\\\\i> 



A(nc :j7.J LXVAYV/vrK. ir,7 

rtiimiiif'; up, jukI mIi(»\v<'(| n pli'lol. Tlic j.'iiN'i* !<•(, jrf) 
li'iM hold, lull, iiiimc(|i!i,(c|y r;iii oil" (of li<'l|». L.'ilii.y- 
rlJr.'H <|('li V'Tcr,! tiioiiiili'd liirii on (oic o( llic I, wo 
liorHcH lliry IiimI |»roii;'lil, Inii In- would no! ri<l»' iiw.'iy 
lllilii Ur, m\w iJiiiJ- (licy Imd IIm- oIIkt. I )r. i»ollin.<iii 
luui Hnld (o liiiii, " ( Jrl, (o Nod! " l>iil h.-iljiyrllc, nol, 
kii(Mviii;';'(liii,l, IImmt vviiii niidi ;i, lowii, iindri'Mlood liitii 
lo H.'iy iricrcly ''(id, oil"!" lie iiiiiiMcd liiii w.'iy, 
iMid, l»('iii['; iiii<;i.;'y ua lo (lie Ihlc (»(" liin IVieiidM, (iiriMrd 
]ui,<rk, hill, MM JM', t'iiw |)(irHii<;rK in (Im diHlnncc^, again 
rf'HitiiUMl liiw ro.'id. 

Ill liic. Hli'ii;.';Klr willi (Im- jjiiN'r lie lind f/ni ii, iu',v«',rc, 
mirain, nnd li;id (Ik- (NmIi loin (»(r liin Hii;'ci-, InyinK i(, 
0|icii (o llic, |)(»iir ; he, will <'<)Vr.Vi\(\ Willi IiiikI ;uid 
blood, liin dniHH wn,H oii( of order, !d(o;';c(lMT, he 
waH Ji, Hd'.'iiijM", (i|.';ur<*, (o Im', mkI vvilli ji;i ii, (iJivellci*. 
j)i-. r.ollm.'iii Ii.mI |»rovi<l(d IVei'li liorK<'H on (Ik*, rond 
wliii'li lie liiiiiMcir look ; liiil lie wnn Jilile. (o rc-u'li i(. 
only in eon;;e(|iienee, <t\' (lie jM'iM'toiiM d<'Volion «»( IVI r. 
llii^';er, wlio {.ni,v<'. liiniMell' n|) (o (Jie, liir.l, |»iir(y oC 
purHiJcrH, lujjiinf^ lliereby (o j^niii liiiK- lor (he ol.lici'H. 
All WMH in vain; linrnyeKe, vva,H an-eH(«'-d Ji(. S(eni- 
bc.rg, a.hoid, <'i;^h(. l('a.»^neH IVoin Olinid/, nnd I >r. 
liolhnnn in TrnHKia., aC(er he IumI ero::,<<l Ihr AuK- 
(ria.n rronlier. |{t»(h UoIIiikiii juhI llii;,;e,i' were 



158 LAFAYETTE. [1794. 

imprisoned, and kept chained in their cells for 
six months ; and, in addition to all his other troubles, 
Lafayette had the pain of dreading what those gen- 
erous friends might suffer for his sake. The general 
informed him that they would be hung before his 
window. 

lie became very ill again, but was left ihv nights 
fourteen hours long without any help at all, and at 
first without a light, — afterwards he was allowed to 
burn one until nine o'clock ; he had but two shirts, 
and could not procure another for a change ; and the 
surgeon who drcsstnl his finger Avas hurried all the 
time by an officer, and hardly dared to talk to him. 

At this time, Felix, the secretary, invented a very 
ingenious mode of communication, by means of 
musical airs which he and the servant of M. Mau- 
bourg whistled to each other. They learned to tell 
each otlicr and all tlu; prisoners news by dilierent 
sounds, and Lafayette's heart was rejoiced by at last 
hearing that his wife and children were alive. This 
he would not have known, but tliat his wife was 
mentioned under another name! in a loiter to "M. 
Maubourg. AVhenever her name was seen, the 
letter was kept back, for the Austrian government 
seem to have taken the greatest pains to torture 
Lafayette on this point. 



'■ 




LafayellB receives his Wife and Daughters in the Prison at Olmutz 



CHAPTEE XIV. 

THE FAMILY AT OLMUTZ. 

For this very reason, Lafayette must have felt 
the most intense delight when in October, 1795, he 
saw his wife and his two daughters enter his cell. 
Madame dc Lafayette's devotion had overcome all 
the obstacles which parted them, and in each other's 
company they felt strong to bear any trials that 
might lie before them. 

Having procured a passport as an American lady, 
she had left France for Hamburg, and gone thence 
to Vienna. There Prince Rosemburg, who had 
known her family, procured for her an interview 
with the Emperor of Austria. All she asked of him 
was permission to share her husband's imprisonment, 
which he very politely granted. He told her that 
Lafayette was very well treated, and that his family's 
presence would be one comfort the more. 



1 GO LAFAYETTE. [l795. 

She was therefore much shocked at the strictness 
of his confiuemeiit, and at his extreme thinness and 
paleness. She shared fully in all his privations, and 
•was not treated with any difference even the first 
day of her ai'rival. The purses were immediately 
asked for, and three silver forks found among the 
luggage were eagerly seized. Not being satisfied 
with this system, Madame Lafayette asked to see 
the commandant. That was impossible, but she 
might write to him. Receiving no answer, she wished 
to write to the Emperor, who had given her leave 
to do so ; that also was objected to, and she Avas told 
that her requests addressed to the commandant had 
been forwarded to Vienna. She had asked to be 
allowed to go to mass on Sundays with her daughters, 
to have a soldier's wife take care of their room, 
and to be waited on at table by Lafayette's servants. 
No answer ever came. A second appeal to the 
Minister of TVar, joined with a request to see 
Maubourg and Pusy, was refused by him. 

In February her own health was so much affected 
by all she had endured, that she applied to the 
Emperor himseh' for permission to spend a few days 
at Vienna, in order to consult a physician. Aftei* a 
delay of almost two months, she was informed that 



AGE 38.] LAFAYETTE. 161 

if she left the prison at all, she could never come 
back. She instantly decided to remain at all risks. 

This was the manner of living. The family took 
their daily meals together. After breakfast, the 
mother and daughters were locked up in their cell 
until noon; but between dinner and supper they 
remained in Lafayette's. At eight o'clock they were 
separated for the night. 

The physician who visited them knew not one 
word of French. Lafayette translated for the ladies 
into Latin, in presence of an officer who understood it. 

This life, and more hardships probably than have 
ever been made known, these ladies endured cheer- 
fully, seeing that Lafayette was in better health and 
spirits since they were with him. The daughters 
employed themselves with studies, work, and draw- 
ing, everything which their situation allowed, to vary 
the days, and fortunately they had good health. 
But it is a great strain on the spirits of even the 
youngest and gayest people to lead such a life month 
after month. 

Madame Lafayette had many a melancholy story 
to tell of the events that had taken place in France. 
Lnmediately after her husband's departure she had 
been imprisoned, but was soon released and allowed 



162 LAFAYETTE. [l796. 

to live at Chavaniac, on her parole, — that is, her 
word of honor not to leave the place. In a year, 
however, October, 1793, she was again imprisoned, 
and taken to Paris the next June. She was detained 
there during what was called the Reign of Terror, 
when her grandmother, mother, and sister were all 
beheaded. Nothing can be imagined more horrible 
than the manner in which innocent people were 
carried before a judge, who was no real judge ; a few 
questions were asked, the answers hardly listened to, 
and the victims were hurried off to be killed. Any 
excuse was enough for arresting them. They might 
have been of high rank, or the friends of aristocrats, 
— they might have money, or merely be supposed to 
have it. Nothing would save them; neither rank, 
beauty, talents, innocence, goodness, age, or sex was 
any protection. " Blood ! " Avas the cry of the men 
who had powe^ in Paris. 

Lafayette found that he had lost many dear friends 
and more acquaintances during this time. It was 
also a bitter grief to him to see that the Revolution 
had come to such an end. The hopes and the labors 
of so many patriots seemed to be blotted out. 

During these melancholy months Lafayette's 
friends were not idle. In England speeches were 



AGE 39.] LAFAYETTE. 163 

made in the House of Commons,* asking the Minis- 
ters to interfere; President Washington wrote a 
letter to the Emperor of Austria, in behalf of his 
friend ; and the success of the French army encour- 
aged his relations in France to hope that the generals 
might at last be m a position to demand the release 
of their countrymen. 

This took place at last. The French government 
— a Directory, as it was called, of five persons — de- 
sired Generals Bonaparte and Clark to insist on their 
being set free. It took five months of exchanging 
letters, &c., to induce the Austrian government to 
give them up. 

Before they left Olmutz, and while this arrange- 
was going on, a nobleman was sent to visit Lafayette 
and his friends, and to require from them a promise 
that they would never again enter Austria. 

They drew up a paper in answer, in which they 
denied the Emperor's right to ask such a promise. 
They certainly had no wish ever again to set foot on 
Austrian ground ; but they would not engage to stay 
away if the service of France should require them 
to come within its limits. Nor would Lafayette bind 
himself by a promise to go to America, although he 

* Somewhat like our House of Kepresentatives, at Washington. 



1G4 LAFAYETTE. [l798. 

had formed sucli a plan many and many a time 
during his imprisonment. He had said in one of his 
letters, " The Huron and Iroquois forests are peopled 
with my friends ; the despots of Europe and their 
courts are tne savages for me." 

On the 19th of September, 1797, the prisoners of 
Olmutz were set free. Probably we cannot imagine 
the delight with which they saw again the sky, the 
earth, the very road they travelled which took them 
out of Austria. In the first safe place, the families 
of Messieurs Maubourg and Pusy met them. The 
journey was a slow one on account of Madame 
Lafayette's health, which was much injured by living 
in two prisons. They were ordered to go to Ham- 
burg, and although out of Austria, the prisoners did 
not yet feel free to return home. They did not agree 
in politics with those who governed France, and chose 
Denmark as a safe place, and one near their own 
country. 

Lafayette found and felt that he had come back to 
a changed world. The King, Queen, Court, Assem- 
bly, and Constitution, were all gone ! The places of 
the wise and good who had been killed in the Reign 
of Terror seemed empty still to him. A new consti- 
tution had been made, which satisfied him in some 



AGE 40.] LAFAYETTE. 165 

respects better than that of 1791. But the govern- 
ment was in the hands of five directors with whom 
he had no sympathy, and he found that even his 
manner of returning thanks for his release gave 
offence. He wrote to a friend who had cautioned 
him as to the free expression of his' opinions, after 
speaking of being unfit to join any party : " Thus I 
risk nothing in speaking as I think, because I would 
not and could not be employed, except according to 
my own ideas. The result is, that except on some 
very great occasion of serving the liberty of my 
country after my own fashion, my political life is 
ended. To my friends I shall be full of life, and to 
the public a sort of picture in a museum or book in 
a library." And in a later letter he says : " Those 
who know my views and wishes must be convinced 
that the services I should wish to render to my coun- 
try are of a nature to be combined with the mode of 
living which suits my position, my wife, all my 
family, and myself; that is to say, with a quiet philos- 
opher's establishment on a good farm, — far enough 
from the capital not to be interfered with in my 
solitude, and to see only intimate friends." 

Lafayette established himself at a country-house 
near the little town of Ploen, in Holstein. Here he 
lived quietly with the family of his friend M. Mau- 



166 LAFAYETTE. [l799. 

bourg, whose brother, M. Charles Latour Maubourg, 
soon after married the eldest Mademoiselle Lafayette. 
He received and wrote many letters, and occupied 
himself with plans of a book on the French Revolu- 
tion, to be written by himself and his friends. Gar- 
dening was also an amusement, and he studied books 
on farming with as much zeal as he had given in his 
youth to those on the art of war. Absence from his 
own country and Madame Lafayette's ill-health were 
the chief drawbacks to his happiness. 

But he could hardly believe that he was destined 
to be a mere looker-on while the French army was 
winning the most brilliant victories everywhere ; and 
he was proud of its glory, for there could not be a 
more devoted Frenchman than Lafayette. His heart 
was open to all who were striving to be free in every 
country, but France was always dear. He some- 
times thought of going to the United States, but 
could not resolve • to make his home so far from his 
native land. And his position in America would not 
have been a comfortable one, for some difficulties 
had arisen between the United States and the French 
government, and in case of war Lafayette could not 
have joined either side. 

Early in the year 1799, he removed from Holstein 
to Vianen, near Utrecht. War was raging in almost 



AGE 42.] LAFAYETTE. 167 

every country in Europe, and he preferred living in 
Holland, Avliich brought him a little nearer France. 
During his wife's absence,* he wrote thus to her: 
" Yesterday and to-day, George f and I have been 
arranging a farm for you, either in the beautiful val- 
ley of the Shenandoah, in the State of Virginia, not 
far . from Federal City and even Mount Vernon ; or 
in the lovely fields of New England, within reach 
of the town of Boston, for which you know my 
fancy. I do not conceal from myself, dear Adrienne, 
the fact that I, who complain of the serfs of Holstein 
as a sad surrounding for a friend of liberty, should 
find negro slaves in the valley of the Shenandoah ; 
for, if in the Northern States there is equality for 
all, in the Southern it exists only for the whites. It 
is true that, with our ideas of Cayenne,! we might 

* She had gone to Paris, hoping to save some of the property 
of her family, taken from them during the Eeign of Terror. 

t George Washington Lafayette, his only son, now nearly 
twenty years old. He had spent two years in the United States, 
chiefly mider General Washington's care, while the rest of the 
family were at Olmutz. 

X Lafayette's plantation, on which he had hoped to educate 
slaves was at Cayenne. Li spite of his wife's efforts, they were 
sold, by order of his enemies, in August, 1792. All slaves in 
French colonies were, however, set free in 1794. 



168 LAFAYETTE. [l799. 

console ourselves somewhat. I should, however, pre- 
fer New England, and at the same time I feel all the 
reasons which ought to draw us near Mount Vernon 
and the seat of government. But we only want the 
first dollar to buy our farm with." 

Young Lafayette joined the French army in Hol- 
land this year. It was a singular state of things for 
the father to be unable to enter his native country 
while the son Avas fighting her battles ! Lafayette, 
however, had agreed to his taking part in this cam- 
paign the more readily because he hoped and be- 
lieved that a change in the French government was 
at hand. He sent letters and messages to Paris, but 
there seemed to be no opening for him. 

Another star was rising over the French nation, 
which dazzled their eyes with its brilliancy; fame 
and glory in war were now desired, and the men 
and services of 1789 were forgotten. Napoleou 
Bonaparte, by his extraordinary miUtary talents, had 
• put himself in a position to govern France. In 
December, 1799, he caused a new constitution to be 
proclaimed, by which he secured great power. His 
title was simply First Consul, but he might have 
been called King. 

Lafayette hastened to Paris, on hearing of this 



AGE 42.] LAFAYETTE. , 169 

change. His friends were somewhat alarmed to see 
him there, and thought the First Consul was not at 
all pleased at his speedy arrival. He received a 
message from Bonaparte, through Madame Lafay- 
ette, recommending a very quiet life, which he had 
always intended to lead. 

The family were soon established at Lagrange, an 
estate inherited by Madame Lafayette, about four- 
teen leagues from Paris. It was their home for the 
rest of Lafayette's life, and a very happy one. His 
children remained there after their marriages, * and 
during his son's frequent absence with the army he 
had the pleasure of keej)ing with him his daughter- 
in-law and grandchildren. He particularly enjoyed 
seeing his friends about him after his long separation 
from them, and though his manner of living was sim- 
ple, both Frenchmen and foreigners found a most 
cordial welcome at Lagrange. 

The estate was large enough for him to employ 
himself with experiments in farming, and to put in 
practice what he had learned and observed in Hol- 
stein and Holland. 

* M. George Lafayette married a Mdlle de Tracy, daughter 
of an old friend of Lafayette, both politically and in private. 
The youngest JIdlle Lafayette married M. Louis Lasteyrie. 



CHAPTER XV. 

FRANCE MUCH CHANGED. 

Shortly after his return to France, Lafayette 
received the painful news of General Washington's 
death. It was an unexpected grief and a disappoint- 
ment, for through all his trials Lafayette had cher- 
ished the hope of future visits to the United States 
and Mount Vernon. 

He wrote immediately to the family, and their an- 
swers were accompanied by a jDair of pistols, which 
the General had left him in his will. 

Washington's influence seems almost to have 
formed Lafayette's political character. Without 
knowing him, the young Marquis had the greatest 
enthusiasm for liberty, and wished to help all who 
would be free; but he learned from the Father of 
our Country that steady 'respect for law, and desire 
to strengthen the foundations of government, which 



AGE 43.] LAFAYETTE. 171 

distinguished Lafayette from both friends and ene- 
mies during the stormy scenes of the French Revo- 
lution. He could not convince his countrymen of 
the wisdom of his views; the Constitution of 1791, 
which he liked, was destroyed in less than a year 
by the Jacobins ; — but we need not judge him very 
hardly for having thought the French more fit for 
liberty than they really were. And considering how 
many enemies he had, it is only wonderful that he 
kept his popularity as long as he did. Perhaps, if 
there had been no court to thwart him in everything, 
the nation might have been controlled under his con- 
stitution. 

In the summer of 1800, Lafayette and Maubourg 
were presented to the First Consul, at the Tuileries.* 
He received them with great politeness, and they 
added to their expressions of gratitude many compli- 
ments on the Italian campaign, from which he had 
just returned. 

He seemed to like talking with Lafayette, asked 
some questions about America,, and often discussed 
with him the state of Europe. One day he said to 
him that he "must have found the French much 

* Where he had so often seen Louis XVI. and Marie An- 
toinette. 

12 



172 LAFAYETTE. [I8OO. 

cooled on the subject of liberty." " Yes," replied 
Lafayette, "but they are in a state to receive it." 
" They are disgusted," answered the First Consul ; 
" your Parisians, for instance, the shopkeepers, — O, 
they want no more of it ! " Lafayette repeated his 
former words, and added, " I did not use the expres- 
sion lightly. General ; I am not ignorant of the effect 
of the follies and crimes which have defiled the name 
of liberty ; but the French are j)erhaps more than 
ever in a state to receive it. It is for you to give 
it ; from you they await it." 

Several proposals were made to Lafayette, about 
this time, to be a Senator, or to hold some office, but 
he declined. Bonaparte, notwithstanding, had the 
kindness to procure leave for sonie of Lafayette's 
friends to return to France and regain their prop- 
erty.* But all friendly intercourse between them 
came to an end in 1802, when a decree was passed 
declaring Napoleon First Consul for life. 

Lafayette would have been very ready to vote for 
this appointment, if the liberty of the people had 
been first secured ; but he was not willing to have 
such an office bestowed on any man, unless the gov- 

* Emigrants Avcre forbidden to come back, and deprived of 
their property. 



AGE 45.] LAFAYETTE. 173 

ernment were a remarkably free one.* He felt so 
grateful to Bonaparte that he was very unwillmg to 
offend Mm, but he could not desert the principles 
which had always governed his actions. He wrote 
to the First Consul, explaining his motives, but no 
answer was ever returned. 

His son felt the full force of Bonaparte's displeas- 
ure, for his promotion in the army was stopped, 
although two or three gallant acts ought to have 
been rewarded. 

A fall on the ice, about the end of the year 1802, 
deprived Lafayette for a long time of his usual out- 
of-door pleasures. He broke the thigh-bone, and, in 
order to avoid lameness, went through a terrible pro- 
cess of having his leg stretched in a frame. It was 
kept on for forty days and nights, and caused the 
greatest suffering, which he bore so bravely that the 
surgeons never suspected the mischief it was doing. 
When it was taken off, they were shocked to see the 
effects of such pressure on the muscles and blood- 
vessels about the thigh. The tendons of the foot 

* One of his German friends, Klopstock, the poet, said, soon 
after he came from Ohnutz : " General Lafayette's character pre- 
vents him from understanding his countrymen. How can he 
think them capable of having free institutions? " 



174 -LAFAYETTE. [l803. 

were also injured, and many months passed before 
the wounds inflicted by the machine were cured; 
but Lafayette was always glad that he had tried that 
system, because lameness would have interfered so 
much with his exercise. 

The accident happened in Paris, and during the 
weeks that he was shut up by it he had the pleasure 
of receiving many kind visits and messages of in- 
quiry from both old friends and new, generals and 
senators. People showed the differences in their 
pohtical opinions by the manner in which they came 
themselves to the house, or sent their servants, or 
inquired from others. The Americans in Paris did 
not fail in their attentions. 

In 1803 an arrangement was made between 
France and the United States by which Louisiana 
was bought by the republic. President Jefferson, 
with whom I afayette kept up a regular correspond- 
ence, proposed to him to become the governor of 
the new territory, and suggested that he would be 
both useful and happy in reconciling the French set- 
tlers to the American government. The land allotted 
to him, as a former major-general in the American 
army, was selecte4' from the rich fields of Louisiana. 

But the project does not seem to have tempted 



AGE 46.] LAFAYETTE. 175 

Lafayette. Much as he loved America, his native 
country was dearer still, and he could not give up 
the hope that he might yet serve the cause of liberty 
in France : if not in action, at least by his character 
and example. 

Bonaparte's power seemed a perfect barrier to 
Lafayette's wishes. The army was devoted to him, 
and France parted cheerfully with immense sums 
of money, and with the young men, the hope of the 
nation, who fell by thousands on his battle-fields. 
The victories were wonderful, and even Lafayette 
watched with enthusiasm the progress of the armies, 
though he entirely disapproved of the spirit of the 
government. 

Li 1804 the First Consul was crowned Emperor, 
and all the kings in Europe courted his favor. But 
there was still one old republican whom all his power 
could not move from the fixed opinions of thirty 
years. The Emperor said, one day, to his Council : 
" Gentlemen, I know your devotion to the power of 
the throne. Every one in France is corrected; I 
was thinking of the only man who is not, — Lafay- 
ette. He has never retreated from his line. You 
see him quiet, but I tell you he is quite ready to 
begin again. 



176 LAFArETTE. [idOS. 

The close of the year 1807 was marked by the 
greatest of sorrows for Lafayette, the death of his 
wife. He wrote thus of her to his friend Maubourg : 
" During the thirty-four years of an union in which 
her tenderness, her kindness, the delicacy and . gen- 
erosity of her soul charmed, adorned, and honored 
my life, I was so accustomed to all she was to me 
that I did not distinguish it from my own existence. 

You know as well as I all she was, all she 

did during the Revolution. It is not for coming to 
Olmutz, as Charles Fox said, ' on the wings of love 
and duty,' that I praise her here; but for having 
waited to secure, as far as it lay with her, the well- 
being of my aunt and the rights of our creditors, — 
for having had the courage to send George to 
America. What a generous imprudence it was to be 
almost the only woman in France compromised by 
her name who would not change it ! * Every one 
of her petitions began with these words, Uhe wife 

of Lafayette.' But we have all seen this 

woman, so lofty and brave in great circumstances, 
as gentle, simple, and easy, in the common inter- 
course of life." 

^ ^lost of the wives of emigi-ants went through a form of 
divorce from their husbands, in order to save a portion of their 
property. 



AGE 57.] LAFAYETTE. 177 

His grief for his wife's death was moderated by 
the recollection of her sufferings from ill-health, and 
by the love and sympathy of his children. Her 
room at Lagrange was always kept sacred, and 
Lafayette, every morning of his life spent a few 
minutes in looking at her miniature. There was no 
part of his hfe, private or public, in wliich she had not 
sympathized with him. But in the bitterest days of 
political strife she had never been heard to utter a 
harsh word, although she had missed no opportunity 
of defending her husband. 

She was a truly religious person, and her rever- 
ence, joined with great sweetness and kindness, seemed 
to set her apart from earthly passions. She was 
almost worshipped at Lagrange, and left a bright 
example, which her daughters and her son's wife 
endeavored to follow in her home. 

Bonaparte's career after his coronation was still 
wonderfully successful. The first disappointment 
was his invasion of Russia, in 1812, The Russians 
defended their country obstinately, and" the French 
army suffered terribly during its retreat from cold, as 
well as, the usual distresses of an unsuccessful army 
in an enemy's country. Prussia joined Russia and 
England against him, and the battles were doubtful, 



178 LAFAYETTE. [l814. 

instead of being certain victories for the French. 
Twice they tried to settle matters by agreement, but 
Napoleon's pride and confidence were not yet shaken. 
Austria joined the Allies, they entered France, and, 
in spite of some successes on Napoleon's side, the 
city of Paris was surrendered to them in March, 
18U. 

The Emperor had worn out both power and popu- 
larity. He had governed kings, and had flattered 
French ambition and love of glory ; but the desire to 
rule over every one had become a passion with him, 
and he had indulged it until French blood had 
watered the plains of Europe, and the nation had 
nothing more to give. He was now reduced to 
ruling over the little island of Elba, which was given 
to him ])y the Allies. 

On the 20th of April, 1814, Bonaparte left Fon- 
tainebleau.* The allied sovereigns, the Emperors of 
Russia and Austria, and the King of Prussia, de- 
cided to recall to France and place upon the throne 
the brother of Louis the Sixteenth, under the name 
of Louis the Eighteenth. The poor little Dauphin, 
who had died in prison, was counted as Louis the 
Seventeenth. 

* A country palace, nenv Paris. 



CHAPTER XYI. 

A NEW KING OF FEANCE, 

In spite of all the opposition lie had met with from 
this family, the feelings of his youth revived again 
in Lafayette's heart, and he was glad to see the 
king and his brother, the Count d'Artois, once more. 
The recollection of Louis the Sixteenth's sorrows 
and death no doubt touched him ; but the feeling of 
loyalty to the royal family is stronger in people 
who live under a king than we Americans can 
imagine. 

He, however, did nothing but pay his respects 
once at the palace. The court was composed of 
people with whom it was impossible for him to have 
any connection. The princes soon proved that dur- 
ing their long absence they had "learned nothing 
and forgotten nothing." Their whole desire was to 
restore France to its ancient condition. They were, 
however, obliged to agree to a charter which secured 



180 LAFAYETTE. [l815. 

certain conditions to the common people. They gave 
up, much to the regret of the nation, a great many 
forts, guns, and other things gained in Napoleon's 
campaigns, and they seemed in many ways to have 
more feeling for the crowned heads who had assist- 
ed them than for the French people. They did 
nothing, either, for military glory ; and the French, 
who had enjoyed the idea that their Emperor set 
kings upon half the thrones of Europe, and had 
welcomed back the victor of many a campaign, 
found it dull to see, on public days, a gouty old 
gentleman, who sat in an arm-chair at parade, and 
had nothing to say to them but, " I am pleased, very 
well pleased." # 

Notwithstanding all these objections, however, 
Lafayette preferred this form of government to 
the Empire, and was sorry to hear of Bona- 
parte's escape from Elba and landing at Cannes, 
in the south of France, on the 1st of March, 
1815. 

He had been for a little time In Paris, and found 
that the king was now only ready to make some 
efforts to please the people. Lafayette's friends hoped 
to gain something for the cause of liberty by taking 
the roval side; but he had seen too much of the 



AGE 57.] LAFAYETTE. 181 

obstinacy and slowness of that party, to have any 
hope of working with it.* 

The National Guard of Paris was ready to pro- 
tect the Tuileries, and a great many people who had 
deserted Napoleon the year before now dreaded his 
return, and were quite ready to fight for the king. 

Still all was confusion and disagreement at Paris, 
while Bonaparte, joined everywhere by his old 
soldiers, and welcomed by the country people, ad- 
vanced to the capital without firing a shot. 

On the 20th of March, the king and royal family 
left Paris and went to Ghent, travelling quietly by 
post through a country sufficiently friendly to him, 
had he only been wilUng to accept a new order of 
things. 

This was what Napoleon was trying hard to do. 
In every proclamation he spoke of " the people," of 
" owing all to the people," and used as often as pos- 
sible republican words, although his real feelings of 
despotism would occasionally peep out. 

Under his government, of course, Lafayette could 

* One of the king's ministers said, " All is lost! There is no 
extremity, no endm'ance, to which the king would not sub- 
mit." " "What !" said some one , "even Lafayette?" "Yes," 
cried he, " Lafayette himself! " 



182 LAFAYETTE. [l815. 

not hold any public station. After spending three 
days more in Paris, in order not to appear alarmed, 
he returned to Lagrange and his happy home-life. 

It was to be interrupted sooner than he supposed. 
The Allies immediately rose against Napoleon, who 
found he must in some way gratify the people, who 
were balancing the advantages of having him on the 
throne and another war to carry on against the 
Allies, or of having Louis the Eighteenth, with all 
his defects, ruling over them once more. 

Plis brother Joseph sent for Lafayette, who could 
only suggest his invariable remedy for all national 
difficulties, a National Assembly. To this the em- 
peror gave a most unwilling consent, and Lafayette 
was elected a deputy. 

The chamber of Representatives was opened by 
Bonaparte with great pomp, but, though his words 
Avere satisfactory, his face had a constrained look, as 
if he were acting a part that was odious to his nature. 
He could not speak to National Deputies so cordially 
as poor Louis the Sixteenth had done in 1789. 

During the reception of the emperor he spoke to 
Lafayette in private, and began by saying, "It is 
twelve years since I had the pleasure of seeing you." 
"Yes, sire," replied Lafayette, rather dryly, "it i-«=, 



AGE 57.] LAFAYETTE. 183 

fully that time." * Later in the day, tne emperor 
remarked, " I find you grown young ; country air 
has done you good." " It has done me much good," 
answered Lafayette, who could not return the com- 
pliment. 

On the whole, he was pretty well satisfied with the 
Assembly, finding more independence than he had 
expected among the members. 

War being declared, the emperor left Paris on the 
12th of June, 1815, and the battle of Waterloo was 
fought on the 18th. It was a total defeat for the 
French. Napoleon came back to Paris ready to dis- 
solve the Assembly and seize all authority for himself. 

Lafayette insisted that the Assembly should de- 
clare that it would not be broken up, and would try 
to protect the city. This was agreed to, and the 
Emperor's abdication t was proposed. After a great 
struggle to keep his power, he consented to resign 
the throne in favor of his son. The Assembly ac- 
cepted his abdication, but said nothing of his suc- 
cessor. 

Some of his friends were desirous that he should 

* Thirteen years, in fact, — since 1802, when Bonaparte was 
appointed Consul for life, 
t Giving up the throne. 



184 LAFAYETTE. [l815. 

go to America, and Lafayette tried to secure a safe 
passage for him. 

The Assembly now appointed a sort of committee 
to govern France from day to day. It was expected 
that Lafayette would be a member ; but he was sent 
instead to meet the victorious generals, and, if pos- 
sible, prevent them from coming to Paris. They had 
declared that they waged war against Bonaparte 
alone, and not in favor of the royal family. 

It was, however, impossible to induce them to 
agree to any terms of peace until they were near 
Paris, and they insisted on having Napoleon in their 
safe keeping. When Lord Stewart first said to 
Lafayette, " I must inform you, sir, that there can 
be no peace with the allied powers, unless you 
deliver up Bonaparte to us ; " he replied, " I am 
surprised that, to propose so base an act to the 
French nation, you address yourself by choice to a 
prisoner of Olmutz." 

There was nothing to be done but to return to 
Paris, and Lafayette was sorry to find the French 
army in too broken a condition to surprise the Prus- 
sian force on its way to the capital. There was one 
favorable moment for such an attempt, and military 
ardor awoke again in Lafayette's mind at the sight 



AGE 57.] LAFAYETTE. 185 

of the enemy marching upon Paris for the second 
time within a year. 

They entered the city, and Napoleon, who had 
lingered too long in France to niake his escape now, 
gave himself up to the captain of an English ship of 
war. He was banished to Saint Helena. The 
Assembly was dissolved on the 18th of July. Lafay- 
ette was therefore free to return to Lagrange. 



CHAPTER XVTI. 

VlSri" TO THE UNITED STATES. 

Lotus thh IOigiiteentii was i'q)laccd on the 
throne of I^'iance, and the nation had again to bear 
the uiortifieation of giving up soinc, foils .'irul pull- 
ing olhci's lo pieces. Il, was a l)i((<'r thing lo the 
French to s(!<! olher nations triumphing over them ; 
but rest was nee<le(l, ;i,t lasl, iifler all Iheii* efforts. 

"Whatever miglit be tlie, troubles that disturbed 
France, or however great J^afayette's disappointment 
in llie form of government, Lagrange was always 
lo him a h;iven of peace, content, and happiness. 
He lived on Ihe b(;st terms with his poor neighbors, 
who tliought of him as the country gentleman inter- 
ested in liis farm, and not as the "hero of two 
worlds," the soldier and public man. Here he re- 
ceived his gu(!sls witii the greatest cordiality, and 
enjoyed the liveliness and alFectioa of his grand- 



AGE 61.] LAFAYETTE. 187 

children, who were educated chiefly by their mothers, 
and were constantly to be seen in the drawing-room 
with their grandfather. 

Many distinguished persons, artists, literary men, 
and all foreigners who were liberal in politics, came 
to see him at Lagrange, so that his quiet life waa 
never a dull one. An English lady, who spent 
several days in his house in 1818, describes the 
pleasant conversations in which Lafayette was some- 
times led to speak of the scenes and people he had 
seen in past years, his cordial, cheerful manners, and 
the happiness of the family. " Charming days, 
more charming evenings, flow on in a perpetual 
stream of enjoyment here." In the mornings 
Madame George Lafayette, the Countess Lasteyrie, 
and the Countess Maubourg, were " busy with the 
children and did not appear." The visitors amused 
themselves, or were with the General, unless his 
occupations prevented. Then^came a walk or drive, 
— sometimes a long excursion. After dinner, at 
four o'clock, conversation ; in the evening, music, 
or talking. 

She speaks thus of the grandchildren's education : 
"Before breakfast I find all the young people at 
their easels, painting from models, in the ante-room ; 

13 



188 LAFAYETTE. [I8I8. 

then they go to their music* (there are three pianos) ; 
then they all turn out into the beautiful park for two 
hours, and then resume their studies for two hours 
more. But I never saw such happy children ; they 
live without restraint, and, except while at their 
lessons, are always with the grown people. If the 
little ones are noisy, they are sent into the ante- 
room ; but their gentleness and good conduct are 
astonishing, considering, too, that eleven of the twelve 
are always with us." 

It seems as if they must have inherited something 
of their grandfather's sunny temper. 

This very pleasant mode of life was sometimes 
exchanged for a long visit in Paris. Lafayette was 
chosen deputy to the Assembly of 1818, and began 
to work with all his old diligence. The national 
expenses for the army, navy, and public education ; 
the law of elections ; the forming of the National 
Guard, and the freedom of the press, were the prin- 
cipal subjects which occupied him. His speeches 
were marked by his usual indci)endence and open- 
ness. His enemies were numerous and powerful, 
and some attempts were made to accuse him of a 
share in secret plots against the government. But 

* A music-master and an English governess lived in the house. 



AGE 64.] LAFAYETTE. 189 

such efforts failed, although Lafayette was connecfed 
for a short time with a secret society. He was too 
frank and open in his nature, and his views were too 
moderate, ever to satisfy politicians who work in 
underhand ways. 

In the summer of 1824, Lafayette accepted the 
invitation of President Monroe to visit the United 
States. Congress voted to send a man-of-war for 
him ; but he declined it, and came in a packet-ship, 
landing at New York on the IGth of August. He 
was accompanied by his son and his secretary, M. 
Levasseur. From New York he proceeded to Bos- 
ton, and as far north as Portsmouth, N. H. ; then 
returned to New York, and went south to Yorktown, 
Washington, Charleston, and New Orleans; then 
came up the river Mississippi, and through Kentucky, 
Ohio, and New York, to Boston again, in order to be 
present at the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker 
Hill Monument, which took place June 17, 1825. 
He then went once more to the south to take leave 
of his friends in Virginia, and sailed from the Potomac 
on the 8th of September, 1825. Thus he travelled 
through almost every State in the Union, and saw 
many a flourishing town where there had been an 
unbroken forest in 1777, or even at his last visit in 
1784. 



190 LAFAYETTE. [l824. 

It is impossible to describe the welcome the nation 
gave to its guest. From the moment of his landing 
until his embarkation, there was a constant succession 
of processions, speeches, public dinners, military re- 
views, balls, fireworks, rejoicings of every kind at 
every place. Old soldiers of the Revolution were 
collected to see him, school-children often formed a 
part of the processions, private houses were thrown 
open, committees from one town escorted him to the 
next, barouches with four or six horses met him 
everywhere for his entrance into the towns, all the 
streets and houses were crowded witli eager faces, 
wherever he went the day of his arrival was cele- 
brated as a holiday, and the whole United States 
showed their joy at receiving him. 

No such event is recorded in history. It was 
most extraordinary that the man who devoted him- 
self in his early youtli to helping a nation in the days 
of poverty and weakness should live to come back to 
a new generation of men, living under the govern- 
ment which he had helped to establish, and prosper- 
ous in every way. 

No pains were spared to please liim and to do him 
honor. On his first arrival at New York, the Gov- 
ernor, Mayor, and other important persons, went to 



AGE 66.] LAFAYETTE. 191 

meet him in a steamboat, followed by several others, 
two of which towed up the ship Cadmus, that had 
brought him over. 

In Boston he received the highest honors, and 
went to Commencement at Cambridge, and also to 
hear the oration before the Phi Beta Kappa Society. 
The church was crowded with people more eager to 
see him than to hear the performances, and the 
whole audience listened breathlessly when the orator, 
Mr. Everett, turning to him, addressed him in these 
words : " Hail, Friend of our Fathers ! welcome to 
our shores! Enjoy a triumph which is reserved 
neither for conquerors nor monarchs ; the assurance 
that here, throughout all America, there is not a 
heart which does not beat with joy and gratitude in 
hearing your name. You have already received, 
and will soon receive the greetings of the small 
number of ardent patriots, wise counsellors, intrepid 
warriors, with whom you were associated for the con- 
quest of our liberty ; but in vain you will look 
around you for those who would have preferred a 
single day like this, passed with their old companion 

in arms, to years of life You will again 

visit the hospitable roof of Mount Vernon ; but he 
whom you revered will no longer be on the thresh- 



192 LAFAYETTE. [l824. 

old to receive yoii ; his voice, that consoUng voice, 
which reached you even in the cell of Olmutz, will 
no more break silence to bid you sit at his hearth ; 
but the children of America receive you in his name, 
and cry, ' Welcome, Lafayette ! thrice welcome to 
our land, friend of our fathers and our country ! ' " 

On his return to New York a very splendid pub- 
lic ball was given to him at Castle Garden, a large 
hall built just on the water's edge, at the foot of the 
Battery. It was beautifully ornamented ; and as 
the General took his seat, what appeared to be a 
painting in front of the gallery was lifted up, and 
showed a transparency with a view of Lagrange, and 
underneath it these words : " Plis Home." Not only 
Lafayette, but many a person who had never seen 
Lagrange, was moved. At two o'clock in the morn- 
ing, a steamboat came to take him from Castle Gar- 
den up the Hudson River to West Point. 

At Philadelphia an equal enthusiasm was shown, 
and at Baltimore he was particularly touched by 
being received in Washington's tent, where he found 
several veterans of the war waiting for him. 

His visit to the tomb of Washington was private 
and most solemn. Mr. Custis (Mrs. Washington's 
grandson) gave him on the spot a ring containing 
Washington's hair. 



AGE 67.] LAFAYETTE. 193 

Pleasing and painful memories, of course*, came 
crowding upon his mind as he revisited the battle- 
grounds of the Revolution, or the places where he had 
lived, and found himself almost alone, — that he had 
survived his companions. He arrived at Yorktown 
on the 19 th of October, the anniversary of Lord Corn- 
wallis's surrender, and saw the field again white with 
tents ; but this time there were no batteries, and the 
place of the redoubt which his troops had stormed 
was marked by a triumphal arch. The names of 
other French heroes besides Lafayette, were not for- 
gotten in the inscription. A review of militia did 
not exactly recall the perils of the siege ; and a 
great public dinner, fireworks, &c., closed the day. 

Lafayette went to Monticello to visit Mr. Jefferson, 
whose health was too infirm to allow him to take 
part in any of the festivities, but who welcomed him 
heartily to a home. And a httle rest was very 
pleasant after so much motion and excitement. The 
mere effort of making so many speeches and shaking 
hands with so many strangers would have been 
fatiguing under common circumstances; but Lafay- 
ette's health was perfectly good through the year; 
enjoyment seems to have enabled him to bear every 
exposure. 



194 LAFAYETTE. [l825. 

At Washington he was received in the most re- 
spectful manner by the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives, who voted him a present of two hundred 
thousand dollars and a township of land, "in con- 
sideration of his services and sacrifices in the Rev- 
olutionary War." Ho spent several weeks of the win- 
ter at the capital, and then proceeded further south. 

At Fayetteville, N. C, a town named for him, a 
part of his escort consisted of a troop of cavalry that 
had travelled a hundred a fifty miles, a great part of 
the time in the rain, from their homes in the country. 

At Charleston, S. C, he met once more Mr. Huger, 
the faithful friend of Olmutz. What a contrast to 
the time when he had mounted Lafayette on horse- 
back, and quietly given himself up to the jailers ! 

At Savannah, he laid the corner-stones of two 
monuments to General Greene and Count Pulaski, 
both friends of his youthful days. On the Chata- 
hoochee River, in Georgia, a number of Indians were 
collected to see him, and greeted him with yells as he 
crossed. On his landing they took the horse out of 
the sulky * provided for him, and dragged him up the 
hill, after which they entertained him with one of 

* A vehicle like a chaise, which holds but one. 



AGE 67.] LAFAYETTE. 195 

their games at ball. Red men and white alike 
exerted themselves to gratify the nation's guest. 

In going to Louisville, Kj., Lafayette met with 
the only accident which interrupted the pleasure of 
this journey. The steamboat he was in struck a 
snag and was wrecked. No lives were lost, but it 
was impossible to get out the luggage ; and Lafayette 
lost six hundred letters, besides the other contents of 
his trunks. 

He accomplished one object on which he had set 
his heart, — that of getting back again to Boston in 
time for the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker 
Hill Monument. It was fifty years from the day of 
the battle, and the hill was crowded with free, happy 
New Englanders, who looked back to that hard fight 
as to the first step on the path of liberty. The pro- 
cession was formed as usual, with the military, vari- 
ous societies, the Governor, Mayor, and guests from 
a distance. Lafayette's place was of course a con- 
spicuous one, and he was accompanied- by ninety-six 
survivors of the battle in carriages, and others on 
foot. 

Mr. Webster was the orator of the day, and when 
he addressed Lafayette and this band of veterans, 
they all rose. The interest of the scene was very 



10 G LAFAYETTE. [l825. 

great, mid (Ik; whole ceremony of laying the corner- 
stone was KUcccHsfiil. The weathei* was fine, and 
Lafayette wroU; to liis family, lliat aftei'noon, that he 
had just coirie iVoin "one of llie lincst ])ali'iotic cele- 
brations there could be." At the dinner which was 
given after the morning's work, his toast was, " Bun- 
ker Hill, and the saci'ed resistance to op[)ression 
which lias jUready i'reed the American Hemisphere ! 
— 'i'lie toast on the jubilee of the next half-century 
will be, Europe free ! " * 

Towards the close of tlie summer, there came 
some painful farewells to be said to his American 
friends. Jn Virginia he took leave of ex- Presidents 
JeHerson, Madison, and Monroe. The election of a 
new President had taken place during the past year, 
and Lafayette pleased himself with the hope that his 
presence had softened a little the harshness of party 
spirit. The new l*resident, Mr, John Quincy Ad- 
ams, invited him to dine at the AVhite House on his 
birthday, (Sept. Gth,) with a large party. It is con- 
trary to custom to give toasts at the President's table, 
})ut on this o('(^asion Mr. Adams rose and said, " The 
22d of February and the Gth of September : Birth- 
days of Washington and Lafayette ! " The General, 

* 'I'licro is iKjt iinicli sif^ii of tliLs now (1869). 



AGE 68.] LAFAYKTTE. 107 

much moved at hearing his name thus associated 
with Washington's, gave, in return, " The 4th of 
July : Birthday of Uberty in both hemispheres ! " 

Tlic next day, September 7th, Lafayette received 
and answered a farewell address from the President, 
and then, followed by a long procession, went to the 
steamboat which waited to take him on board the 
frigate Brandywine. 

It was a solemn parting ; for few of the persons 
there present could hope to see Lafayette in France, 
and he was too old a man to think of ever coming 
to America again. The visit had been a happy time 
in his life, and one that can never be repeated in 
the history of the United States. 



CHAPTER XYIII. 

A HArrY HOME. 

After all his enjoyment, however, he was glad 
indeed to find himself at home at Lagrange, where 
he was welcomed Avith a " fete," a few days after his 
arrival. The house was decorated, and all his neigh- 
bors danced merrily in the park. Young girls came 
to see him and to sing a few little verses, which is a 
French fashion of rejoicing, and j^erhaps quite as 
good a one as the American style of making speeches. 

During Lafayette's absence, Louis the Eighteenth 
had died and was succeeded by his brother, Charles 
the Tenth ; but the system of government was not 
much changed. Li fact, Charles the Tenth was 
still more attached to the old aristocratic system than 
his brother. He said, himself, " Lafayette and I are 
the only two men in France who have remained 
perfectly lirm in their principlqs through the ivcvolu- 
tion." 



AGE 69.] LAFAYETTE. 199 

At this time Greece was in a state of revolt 
against the Turks ; Spain and Portugal were at least 
half way towards revolutions ; Italy was far from, 
being quiet ; General Bolivar was laboring to make 
Columbia a republic, and Mexico claimed some 
interest from the lovers of freedom. Lafayette 
corresponded with the various generals, and La- 
grange was always open to unfortunate politicians 
who were banished from their native country, 
wherever that might be. No limits of sea or 
mountains ever shut off his sympathy from a people 
who loved freedom, and he was ready to give 
any help in his power to those who were resisting 
oppression. 

He seems never to have known fatigue, either of 
body or mind. He was again elected to the As- 
sembly in 1827, and took up all his habits of busi- 
ness. The care of so large a farm as Lagrange 
would have been thought by many people occupa- 
tion enough for a man of his age. It included 
about five hundred French acres of land, partly 
in plantations, and partly in meadows for sheep 
and cattle. Lafayette took great pleasure in col- 
lecting fine animals, and he had many presents of 
good specimens. All his barns and sheepfolds 



200 LAFAYETTE. [l827. 

were kept in the neatest manner, and the accounts 
of the produce and expenses of the farm were put 
down in large books, as accurately as the accounts 
of a merchant's business. It was not intended for 
a show place, and the chief ornament was the beauti- 
ful park, and the long, shady avenue which led to 
the house. 

This was an old castle, but comfortable enougn 
for a modern family. Five towers * were the most 
striking part of it to a stranger, as he approached ; 
one in the middle of the house, two at the end of 
each wing. Around three sides of the house was 
a moat, or deep ditch, full of clear water, in which 
fishes might be seen. Large weeping willows and 
other fine trees hung over the edge. On the fourth 
side it had been filled up, and the front of the cha- 
teau looked out on a smooth lawn, with a few flowers 
growing near the house. In the lower story of the 
house were a small chapel, a large dining-room with 
a stone roof, a hall, kitchens, etc. ; above, the draw- 
ing-rooms, the General's private apartments, and the 
rooms used by the various families and the guests. 

Lafayette's own habits were very simple and 

* One of them was covered with ivy, planted by Mr. Fox, a 
very distinguished Englishman. 



AGE 69.] LAFAYETTE. 201 

regular. He slept usually but seven hours, and was 
called by his servant at live o'clock. He read or 
wrote in his own apartment until the ten o'clock 
breakfast, after which he always went about the 
farm for two hours at least, then returned to his 
writing until dinner-time. In the evening, if there 
were visitors, he remained in the drawing-room, 
talking ; if the family were alone, he sometimes 
went back to his own occupations, — but he reap- 
peared to bid his children good night. 

His management of his farm served as an ex- 
ample to his poor neighbors. The peasants laughed 
when they first saw his large plantation of apple- 
trees ; but by and by, when they found the cider 
from Lagrange was good and sold well, they also 
began to set out orchards. 

His neighbors, and even strangers, were allowed 
to walk freely on his grounds, and all visitors at the 
house were at liberty to amuse themselves with 
walks, boating and fishing on the pond, or anything 
else they preferred. The spirit of genuine kindness 
governed the whole family, from the General down 
to his youngest grandchild, and made them a great 
blessing to the neighborhood. The physician of the 
place had the best means of knowing their char- 



202 LAFAYETTE. [l827. 

ities, for he was often sent to visit the sick at their 
expense. He says : " All Lafayette's moments at 
Lagrange resemble each other, for they are all 
marked by good feelings or kind actions." 

Every week two hundred pounds of bread were 
given out to the poor, of the same quality as that 
used at Lafayette's table i and in times of scarcity 
the quantity was increased to six hundred pounds, 
and soup was added. In 1817 there was a famine, 
and the distress was great near Lagrange. Seven 
hundred persons might have been seen at the 
chateau every day, — they received soup and bread, 
but the supplies fell short before the end of the season. 
A family council was held, and Lafayette proposed 
that they should all go to his old home at Chavaniac, 
in Auvergne, and thus leave for the poor what they 
usually consumed themselves. This plan was joy- 
fully agreed to and carried out by the family. 

During the cholera season of 1832, Lafayette and 
his son and daughters devoted themselves to the 
care of the sick. His son brought down a physician 
from Paris. Medicines, ice, blankets, flannel, every- 
thing in the house was used for them, and by day 
and by night the family gave their whole strength 
and efforts to relieving pain, and curing the dis- 



AGE 71.] LAFAYETTE. 203 

ease, if possible. The peasants, who had at first 
been so frightened that they deserted all who were 
attacked, took courage from such an example, ven- 
tured into the houses, and nursed their own relations. 

Was it strange that, after many years of such 
thoughtful kindness, the country peoj)le loved him ? 

The house was a perfect museum of presents. 
Swords from the United States and the National 
Guard ; busts and portraits of Washington ; rings 
containing the hair of celebrated people ; flags, boxes 
made from old or famous trees, canes, silver vases, 
portraits of patriots of all nations, Indian weapons, 
stuffed birds, — - everything which people had imag- 
ined he might like to keep, had been showered upon 
him. And he had the pleasantest way of answering 
questions upon the various parts of his life, — from 
his acquaintance with the Queen to the habits of the 
Indians. To young people he was almost a volume 
of history. And if a little vanity mingled with his 
frankness in speaking of what he had done, it could 
be easily excused in one whose services had been so 
great. 

In the summer of 1829 Lafayette took a little 

journey in France, which was ahnost the repeating 

of some of his days in America. He went first to 
14 



204 LAFAYETTE. [l829. 

Chavaniac, in Auvergne, liis native place, and thence 
on to Vizille, near Grenoble, to visit one of his 
granddaughters. He received everywhere a public 
welcome ; banquets were given to him, followed by 
patriotic speeches ; processions escorted him ; fire- 
works and illuminations made the nights brilliant. 

The Government was displeased with this expres- 
sion of admiration for Lafayette, and with the liberal 
sentiments and wishes he did not hesitate to utter; 
but there was no excuse for interfering. 

The king and his son made themselves constantly 
more and more unpoj)ular, by doing everything in 
their power to interrupt elections, to restrain the 
freedom of the press, and to blot out all traces of 
what had been gained by the Revolution. The king 
wished to govern alone, and he preferred ministers 
who would allow him his own way in everything. 
" Where will this end ? " asked some timid politicians, 
and Lafayette lived to see the end. You might 
think there was to be nothing more in his life but 
quiet home-scenes, and the happiness of being be- 
loved and honored in so many places ; but a second 
Revolution called his powers once more into active 
use. 

In July, 1830, certain decrees relating to elections 



AGE 72.] LAFAYETTE. 205 

appeared, whieli the people of Paris decided not to 
submit to. On the 27th they took up arms and 
began to resist the king's troops. Lafayette was 
sent for, arrived at night, and immediately gave the 
assistance of his name and character to the Parisians 
fightinor in the streets. 

The next day the Deputies to the Assembly met, 
and, after much discussion, decided what to do. Some 
of them proposed merely to act as mediators between 
the king and the people, who were taking the Hotel 
de Ville, and having sharp conflicts with the soldiers 
all over the city. Others said it was too late ; that 
some committee must take command for a few days, 
and^ give orders to the party that was resisting at the 
barricades, and that the king must go. Lafayette 
was indignant at any delay while his countrymen 
were dying around them with the cry "Vive la 
Liberte ! " * on their lips. 

On the 29 th he was asked to take command of the 
National Guard, which he did very cheerfully. His 
thoughts went back to the hopeful days of 1789 ; and 
when he went up the great staircase of the Hotel de 
Ville, he said to some person who offered to show 

* It is not easy to translate these words. " Hurra for Lib- 
erty! " means almost the same thing. 



206 LAFAYETTE. [l830. 

him the way, " I know every step." He had not 
been there for nearly forty years. 

On the third day the figliting came to an end. 
Lafayette gave his orders to the National Guard 
with as much ease and interest as he had in 1789, 
He was proud to command the Parisians. In a 
letter written on the oOth, he says, " The people of 
Paris have covered themselves with glory; and when 
I say the people, I mean those who are called the 
lowest classes of society, who this time have been 
the first ; — for the courage, the intelligence, the de- 
votion and virtue of the citizens, have been admira- 
ble We are admirably barricaded. If the 

enemy should venture again into the streets, he 
would have cause to repent of it." 

On the olst the Deputies decided to invite the 
Duke of Orleans — the son of the wicked Duke of 
Orleans, who was cousin to Louis XVI., Louis XVIIL, 
and Charles X. — to be Lieutenant-General of France. 
lie had fought under the Republican flag nearly 
forty years before, and was believed to be far more 
reasonable and sensible than the king's sons. He 
came to visit Lafayette at the Hotel de Villc. Proc- 
lamations containing his name had been torn down, 
and the immense crowd which filled the square did 



AGE 72.] LAFAYETTE. 207 

not show him any favor as he rode along. Lafayette 
received him at the foot of the staircase ; they went 
up together, and the proclamation announcing him as 
Lieutenant-General was coldly received. Lafayette 
held out his hand to the duke, gave him a tricolor 
flao^, and led him to one of the windows. The crowd 
below instantly cheered them. 

Lafayette was very anxious to find out clearly the 
opinions of the duke, who was to hold so important a 
position, and returned the visit quickly. He said to 
the duke: "You know I am a republican, and I 
think the constitution of the United States the most 
perfect one there has ever been." " I think as you 
do," answered the duke ; " it is impossible to have 
passed two years in America and not be of that 
opinion ; but do you think it fitting for us to adopt 
it, in the situation of France, and considering the 
general opinion ? " " No," said Lafayette ; " what 
the French want to-day is a throne surrounded with 
republican institutions, — entirely republican." " So 
I understand it," replied the duke. 

During this time the royal troops were collected 
near Rambouillet, about twenty-five miles southwest 
of Paris, where the king waited, uncertain what to 
do. A large body of the National Guard set out for 



208 LAFAYETTE. [l830. 

Versailles, intending to keep on to Rambouillet ; but 
the king, hearing of their march, agreed to give up 
the diamonds of the crown, and to go to Cherbourg 
to take passage for England. 

The Duke of Orleans invited Lafayette to take 
command of the National Guard of the whole king- 
dom. This proposal, although like the one which 
he had prevented in 1790, he now thought it best to 
accept. 

On the 9th of August the Duke of Orleans was 
invited to fill the vacant throne. He agreed to 
the conditions the Assembly proposed, and became 
King under the name of Louis Philippe, first King 
of the French. 

Lafayette gave the following account of this short 
Revolution : " The victory of the people has been as 
admirable, rapid, and complete as the most romantic 
imagination could have dreamt. Tuesday we were 
breakfasting at Lagrange, receiving the Moniteur * 
containing the decrees ; you can imagine that I did 
not dine there. They began to fight the same even- 
ing ; the two next days there were combats, barri- 
cades, heroic actions, everywhere. I was able to 
establish myself at the Hotel de Ville, which had 

* A Paris uewspapei*. 



AGE 72.] LAFAYETTE. 209 

been taken and retaken ; and the royal family, cross- 
ing France without receiving the least insult, are to 
embark to-day (Aug. 12). The people have done 
the whole. Courage, intelligence, disinterestedness, 
clemency towards the conquered, — everything has 
been incredibly fine. How different from even the 
first moments of '89 ! " 



CICAPTEK XIX. 

THE OLD SOLDIER. 

Lafayette continued to take great pleasure in 
arranging the National Guard, wliicli the king often 
reviewed, and in which he expressed much satisfac- 
tion. He devoted to it all the time which could be 
spared from his duties as Deputy. 

His orders were full of spirit, and it pleased the 
people to see this veteran general of seventy-two as 
active in his habits as any young officer. He was 
always greeted with cheers and many signs of favor 
when he aj)peared on public occasions. 

He had been in the habit of receiving his friends 
and strangers at his house one evening of every 
week, and after this revolution his rooms were much 
fuller than before. He then put on his uniform, and 
in many little ways showed much of the spirit of his 
early days. His manners werp always cordial, and 



AGE 73.] LAFAYETTE. 211 

his face readily lighted up with smiles. He was tall 
and had a good figure ; but his face was plain, though 
his complexion preserved its freshness to the end of 
his life. 

The company on these occasions was not select, 
but often included many distinguished persons. 
Americans especially enjoyed them, as almost all 
nations might be seen there. Poles, Greeks, Span- 
iards, Italians, Portuguese, and Irish patriots, met on 
friendly ground under Lafayette's roof. 

The General was particularly fond of going to the 
dinner given by the Americans in Paris every Fourth 
of July. He would sometimes come up from La- 
grange for the purpose, and always had a patriotic 
toast ready. 

In December the Guard was called out in great 
force during the trial of Charles the Tenth's minis- 
ters, for having ordered the troops to fire during the 
three days of July. Order was maintained by great 
efforts ; for the crowd who filled the streets were not 
those who had fought at the barricades, but the dregs 
of Paris. Lafayette was, however, respected by 
them, and did not hesitate to go freely among the 
groups and disperse them. It was expected that the 
ministers would be condemned to death, but their 
sentence was perpetual imprisonment. 



212 LAI'Al'KTTi:. [1830. 

lie- received from llif Idnp; most nflTncf innate notefl 
of thaiilvs iov Ills own s<'rvi(-(^s .'umI lliosc ol'llic, (himihI. 

Il.w.'is {]\<'\t'\'()\*'. Jill iiii|>l(';is:iii(. siir|)i"is«' to liiiii lo 
liiid lli;i(, oil llic, 2I1I1 ol I ><'<'('inl)(T ;i l;i,w was j)jiH.scd 
forhiddiii;^ llic :i|)|)()inliiiciil, ol" .'iiiy such oflicfW' as 
('otiininii(la,nl-;4<'ji<!i;il, and .'diovviii;.'; only vciy Hinall 
divisions of lli<; (ilii.'U'd lo li.'ivc :t ('oinin<-iiid;iiil. 

Under sikIi a law Ijaraycl.lc <*oiild nol hold his 
oHicc, and he rcfnstMl tiic, title ol" honorary (oininand- 
ant which was ollcnMl him as a compensation. The 
kin;^ accepted hi« rewignation vvilh many words of 
re^r(;t. 

Jn I he Assembly Lafayette was soon enjjjagcd in 
diHCUHsions res[)ecting ex|>ens<'S, nohility, cliictions, 
and al)ov<t :dl the Irealmenl, of for<'i;:^ii nations. 
The K,(;v<)lution of didy had heen a sort of snmmons 
lo Ihe (liHcontenlcil ;ill ov(;r lOurofx; to rise against 
IIk; j^overnm"nls. In I5el;.'iinn, S|);iin, Swit/erhuid, 
{'(•land, and Ihe norlli of llnly, Iheiv, wer(^ eilher 
revohilions or .allempls :il llieiii, :ind L:ifayett(; 
WMiiled the {''reiich |>eo|)l(; lo syni)»allii/«! wilh :iiid 
lielj) all who wen^ slrn<^glin;^ lo he free. It se«!m<ul 
to him only ri^lit Ihiil llios(; who had used l>Mrricad<!H 
to secure Iheir own liberty shoidd hold out IJHMr 
hands to their brethren in oth<U' countiics. When 



AGE 73.] LAFAYETTE. 213 

the revolutions failed, he desired that France should 
be a place of refuge for all the unfortunate. 

But Lafayette was destined always throughout his 
long life to stand alone. His speeches were of 
course listened to with respect on account of his age, 
but he seldom saw one of his jjlans carried out. 
The kinff and his ministers were afraid of bcin": 
dragged into wars if they adopted his views, and 
showed themselves rather more attached to the prin- 
ciples of tiie last reign than to what Lafayette 
thought the true meaning of the lievolution of July, 
1830. 

The activity of his mind was more surprising at 
his age than tliat of his body. Nothing that con- 
cerned France was in any way a matter of indiffer- 
ence to liini, and lie was as ready witli a speech 
about a new law as about the treatment of exiles. 

The troubles of tlie summer of 1832 distressed 
him much. At the funeral of a Deputy and distin- 
guislied general, M. Lamarque, some person unfor- 
tunately carried in the procession a red flag with the 
i-ed cn|) of lil)erty above it, and the motto Lihcrly 
or Death. These words and the cap were associated 
in the minds of many Frenchmen with the horrors 
of the Rei^rn of Terror. Some wreaths were thrown 



214 LAFAYETTE. [l832. 

upon the flag, and about the tomb there was more 
excitement than Lafayette liked to see. Some ad- 
dresses were made ; he said a few words, and with- 
drew. Not being able to find his carriage, he hired 
a vehicle to go home in ; but the crowd, principally 
young men, took out the horses and insisted on drag- 
ging him home. They urged him violently to give 
the signal for an attack by the people, which he 
refused to do. 

The troops were called out, fighting began, and for 
two days Paris was bristling with bayonets. The 
king appeared on horseback, and ordered out the 
cannon, in order, as he said, " to put an end to it 
sooner ; " some persons were arrested, a few news- 
papers stopped, and at last Paris was declared to be 
in a state of siege.* 

Lafayette thought a great deal of this show of 
poAvcr very unnecessary, but blamed severely the 
violence of the young men of tlie liberal party, and 
the bringing forward of the odious red cap. 

Another event which gave him much pain was the 
arrest at Lagrange of a Mr. Llewel, a distinguished 
Pole whom he had invited to his house after an order 

* Undei* the govei'nmeut of officers, just as if there were an 
enemy's army all around iL 



AGE 74.] LAFAYETTE. 215 

from tho ministers banished him from Pans. It was 
suspected that Llewel had again shown himself in 
the capital, and for this offence he was arrested. 

Lafayette was faithful to his Polish friends at all 
times. The last speech he made in the Assembly 
was in support of petitions relating to Polish refugees. 

His last appearance in public was at the funeral 
of a Deputy, M. Dulong, in January, 1833. He 
was on foot for several hours, and was, as usual, much 
gratified by the expressions of the people. He seemed 
tired after Ids return, and was soon taken ill. He bore 
confinement to the house patiently, though he wished 
to be at liis place in the Assembly, and was disap- 
pointed at not being allowed to see the many friends 
who came to inquire after his health. He amused 
himself with reading newspapers and pamphlets, 
writing or dictating letters, and talking, when he was 
not in pain, of America,* or his friends, or anything 
except his own condition. He regained sufficient 
strength to drive out, and his family hoped that he 
might recover, or at least live comfortably for some 

* In many trifles he showed his love for everything American. 
When he was ordered to take a little Madeira wine, " Give me 
that from Lagrange," he said; "it will do me more good." It 
had been sent him from the United States. 



216 LAFAYETTE. [l834. 

• 

lime. But on llic Otli of Mjiy he took, cold from 
exposure to a tliuiider-sliower during his drive, and 
from th:it day there was no hope. The physicians 
^\]u) atleiidcd him proposed consuUing others, and 
one of them said to Lafayette that they felt respon- 
sible, not only to liis family, but to the French 
nation, of Avliom he was the father. " Yes," said the 
General, with a smih^, " their father on condition 
that they never follow a syllable of my advice." 

lie submitted cheerfully to everything his phy- 
sicians ordered, and was most gentle and grateful to 
all who waited on him. 

One of his last letters, dated May 1st, was on the 
subject of the emancipation* of negroes. He spoke 
hopefully of its progress in the United States, begin- 
ning with Maiyland and Kentucky; congratulated 
the English on their management in their colonies, 
and regretted what had been done in the French 
ones ; he also expressed warm approval of Liberia. 

On the 20th of May, without having had much 
suffering, Lafayette died peacefully. Just before he 
drew his last breath, he opened his eyes and fixed 
them on his children who stood about his bed, as if 
to look the farewell he was no longer able to speak. 

* Setting frco. 



AGE 76.] LAFAYETTE. 217 

Their grief can be imagined at the loss of a father 
so illustrious, so loving and tender. Mourning was 
not confined to his own family, but was shared by 
an immense circle of friends and admirers. 

His funeral procession was long, and the streets 
were lined with the National Guard. After services 
in the Church of the Assumption, he was buried, as 
he had desired to be, in the cemetery of Picpus, by 
his wife's side. Lamentations were general, espe- 
cially from the poor. One person, who seemed to 
be a stranger, observed that this must have been a 
very rich person, who had so many people at his 
funeral. " No," answered a laboring man, " but he 
gave us everything; the French people are not 
ungrateful, and they are here to thank him." Another 
poor man endeavored to make his way to the bier, 
to walk directly behind it. " Don't you see," said 
one of the National Guards, "that none but the 
family are admitted there ? " " We all belong to his 
family," replied the man, " for he loved us all as his 
children." He was allowed to pass. 

It was fitting that Lafayette's funeral train should 
pass through the streets of Paris, the scene of his 
greatest successes and hardest labors. He did not 
obtain his heart's desire ; France is not to-day what 



218 LAFAYETTE. [l834. 

lie would wish to see her; and if wo measure the 
value of a Ufe by its success, Lafayette's might be 
pronounced a failure. But if we look dee])er, we 
shall see that his country owes to the Revolution of 
1789 what is best in her present condition ; and 
turning to Lafayette's own character, we cannot 
fail to be impressed with the beauty of his generous, 
disinterested, enthusiastic, loving, upright nature, 
lie was proof against many of the temptations 
other men yielded to, and in his frank simplicity 
went through the changes and trials of a most varied 
life, always deserving the praise of seeking " what- 
soever things are honest." 



THE END. 



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